Naked and Falling
by GreenEggsAndSamIAm
Summary: He woke up naked and falling in the middle of the sky. What else could go wrong?
1. Where am I and Why am I naked

_**Naked and Falling**_

_AN: Just need to say one thing and that's it. When reading, just trust me and keep reading. Everything will make sense eventually. The story follows Naruto's POV and since he will be confused for the most part, so will the readers(You).It's just a way to keep everyone entertained and into the story. Hope you will enjoy. I won't AN much unless someone asks a question._

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**Chapter One: Where am I and Why am I naked?**

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_'Wha...wha...huh? Huh?'_

_'What the hell? Where the hell am I? Why the hell am I free falling? Most importantly...'_

_'WHY THE HELL AM I NAKED?'_

"Wait! What in the hell is happening?! SHIIIIIIIITTTTTT!" Naruto tried to scream out, but the air deafened all noise that came from his mouth as he continued to free fall in the sky. He couldn't even remember how he got here! One minute he was walking away from the memorial he made for his pervy teacher after his fight with Nagato. The next, he's waking up in the middle of open sky; naked and falling. His muscles were pounded and stretched from the continued force of falling at what seemed like a million miles a hour. Naruto grimaced and forced his eyes to open more to see exactly how far he was to the ground. He panicked as he saw the giant mass of land growing wider, grabbing his hair in fear.

_'I need to slow down! The ground is coming to view quick and I'm gonna die if I can't slow down or cushion my fall!' _Naruto thought to himself like an idiot before common sense slapped him across the face._ 'Duh!'_

He forced his hands together through the high pressure from falling and crossed his fingers to perform his signature jutsu to try and save himself from becoming a stain on the ground. Maybe a giant ball of his clones would cushion his fall or at least slow down his descent enough to jump onto something safe once he got closer to the landscape. He grinned as he focused his chakra and scream the name in his head.

_'Shadow Clone Jutsu!'_

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_'Huh?' _

A deadpanned look came across Naruto's face at the lack of clones appearing to save his life. Nothing happened... at all much to his's surprise. His prize technique failed? What the hell was going on? He needed to think fast. Naruto quickly bit his finger, his body still swirling around in mid air as he performed the hand seals to his second jutsu.

_'Summoning Jutsu!'_

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_'Crap.'_

Nothing was happening at all! He could feel his chakra forming inside his body, even though it did seemed strange to him how it felt. Much more warmer that usual. But then again, it could be because he was feeling icy cold wind blowing wildly and painfully against his genitals. Of...course. Here he was about to die naked and all he could think about was his cold junk flapping in the wind. He sighed and closed his eyes after glancing down at the land one more time, the sight of a tiny village growing bigger and bigger.

He didn't want to know when it was going to happen. When he will impact the ground and splatter all over nearby buildings and civilians. He wanted to at least control something about his soon to be death, which was happening for some unknown reason to him. This was his reward for saving the Leaf village. A naked, gruesome death.

Oh, the irony.

_'Well, at least I saved the village.'_ Naruto shrugged as he stretched out his arms and legs, waiting for the inevitable impact to happen. He braced himself as his body drew closer and closer to the group of buildings he was falling toward. His face twitched as human nature came over him and couldn't help but open his eyes to see the mass growing at a quick pace. He may have been trying to be brave but he was still human as the fear overcame him once more and tried to scream one last time.

Suddenly, some kind of large, rotating, red circle appeared in front of Naruto in a flash of light and the next thing he knew; he was smashing into something hard. Something that felt like tiles crumpled underneath his body as he bounced and rolled off what seemed to be a roof top. He fell a few more feet and landed into a large dumpster filled with trash. Banana peels and pieces of paper flew up into the air in a comical manner as the sound of Naruto's groans came from the top of the trash bin.

"Ow..." he groaned out as he stretched an arm out and gripped the edge of the dumpster to lift himself up. "That was not fun at all."

Suddenly, it had struck him. He's alive. He survived. Naruto laughed out loud as he gripped the edge with his other hand and flipped himself out of the large bin in a painful heap. But he didn't care as he continued to laugh, breathing heavily in between chuckles. "I survived. I freaking survived! Wait...I survived?"

He was falling at an incredible rate toward the landscape, about to be smashed like a pancake. Even as a tough shinobi, there was no chance he would have lived after hitting the ground...rooftop, whatever. Naruto lifted his hands in his line of sight and stared at the minor scrapes on his palms and forearms. How did he survive? The more he though about it, the more he remember what happened right before the impact.

Some kind of red circle with weird designs appeared in front of his falling body and then suddenly...he wasn't in the sky anymore. He still fell hard onto the rooftop he rolled off of and hurt himself pretty moderately. But somehow, the space between himself and the ground was somewhat shortened, which caused the impact to be much, much less than it was going to be.

Did he shunshin? No, that was just super speed and he would have killed himself that much quicker. Maybe he somehow used his newly discovered father's jutsu and summoned himself closer to the ground.

"No, I don't know anything about his Flying Thunder God thing. What the hell happened?" Naruto sat up from his lying position and shook his head. "No, wait. How the hell did I ended up falling out of nowhere?"

Naruto struggled to remember the moments after placing the paper flowers Konan made for him at the small memorial he made for his sensei. He was weak, that was for sure. He had the fight of his life both physically and mentally against another student of Jiraiya's. He managed to sway him back to the side of good that their teacher taught them and gave his life to give back everyone's lives in the village he took. It was an emotional moment he had, walking away from the spot.

But then after that, nothing. Nothing at all. It was as if he blacked out or something. He just couldn't remember. Naruto shook his head once more and slowly stood up, dust and garbage falling off his scraped up body. At least his wounds were still healing like they normally did. Slowly but surely, his minor bruises and wounds started its healing process. For now, he needed to find out where he was and also get some clothes before someone discovered his naked body. He looked around the alley he fell into and saw a small pallet of boxes a few feet away from the dumpster he landed into like a trash bag.

He quickly ran to the stack of boxes that was right next to a door that he assumed led to whatever kind of store it belong to and whispered an apology for what he was about to do. Naruto ripped opened the first box and sighed in relief to find clothes neatly stacked. He made a silent promise to come back to this store and pay for the clothes that he was going to 'borrow' when he could. He pulled out a pair of denim jeans and a white muscle shirt, slipping them on quickly before someone caught him when an idea hit him.

These boxes had labels on them. All sorts of information was always printed on them, including the location of where they were sent too. Naruto grinned as he leaned down and ripped off the label of the box he had opened a moment ago. Finally, he could at least find out what village he landed into because he had no idea by the design of the buildings he was surrounded by in the alley. Naruto lifted the label to his face before a look of confusion flashed across his face. He saw usual numbers and stuff that was on shipping labels but it was the name that threw him off. He didn't even know if he could pronounce it.

"Ma...Ma...Magnolia Town?"


	2. Not naked but still lost

_**Naked and Falling **_

_AN: To answer a question, Fairy Tail will come into play soon but for now, it's all about Naruto. Also no, haven't decide who he will end up with, Erza, Mirajane, or Cana. If you guys want to vote, vote in the reviews :)_

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**Chapter Two: Not naked but still lost**

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_Twitch_.

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"Where in the hell is Magnolia Town? And how the hell I ended up here?" Naruto spoke out loud, running his free hand through his hair. He crumpled the label in his hand in frustration before leaping up on top of the building he fell on minutes before. He took a quick look around and suddenly gasped at the sight of this town he had landed in earlier. For the first time in his life, Naruto was left speechless as a mixture of shock, fear, and confusion left him shaking. The crumpled label dropped out of his hand and caught a light breeze as the sight of the town came into full view.

This was not any village he ever heard of or ever seen. There was no familiar architecture from what he could see and there were large water ways running through the city that he had only seen in the Land of Birds. Maybe he was in a village somewhere there? But before he could continue with that train of thought, a loud sound screeched into the air that made Naruto leap up in surprise.

_'A train? No way! Only the Land of Snow had a train system! Where in the hell am I?'_ Panic started to come over him as he whipped his head back and forth. "Where am I?!"

"Boy, you're in Magnolia Town! Now get yourself down from there before you fall and break your neck!" An elderly lady shouted out to him from the ground, shaking her broom up at him. "Though it looks like you've already fallen down a few times already."

Naruto stopped his flailing about and looked down at the lady waving a broom at him. The incredible, shocked look on his face turned deadpanned as he stared the old lady down before chuckling to myself like a madman. "Baa-san, you have no idea. By the way, this...Magnolia Town. What land does it reside in?"

"Boy, you must have fallen off the stupid tree and hit every branch on the way down. This town where you and me are standing in, resides in the Land of Fiore. What? Are you from one of the lands from the west? The east?" The elderly lady asked, still waving her broom at the blonde.

_'Fiore? That's not an element or an animal. What kind of name is that?'_ Naruto thought quickly as his eyes squinted for the moment. He may have goofed off most of his schooling at the academy and training with both of his teachers in his youth. But even he knew that when in a foreign land, blend in and travel stealthy while gathering intel. Most importantly, follow the rules.

Rule number one. lie and lie well.

"Oh yeah!" Naruto laughed out loud as he rubbed the back of his head. For him, it was never hard acting like an idiot. Well, it wasn't hard because he was an idiot sometime. "Sorry, I'm a little weary from all the traveling I did to get here."

"Oh? Did you just arrive?"

"Just a few minutes ago." Naruto looked down at his bumps and bruises. "It was a rough stop."

"Well then, you must be hungry. I own a little cafe down the street. Here, let me give you a ride." The old lady's attitude took a 180 spin and smile at the lost blonde as she threw a leg over her broom. She clicked her heels before a small yellow circle appeared underneath her much to Naruto's shock. "Allons-y, Balai!"

The elderly woman suddenly floated up to Naruto's spot on the roof and patted the part of the broom behind her. "Come on now. I can't do much walking at my age and you look like you shouldn't be walking at all."

He was still in shock at what the old lady was doing on the broom. More so about that colored circle that appeared below her that was similar to the one had appeared before him when he was falling. Next thing he knew, the lady pulled out a paper fan from her sack on her shoulders and whacked him on his head. "Come on boy, or aren't you hungry?"

"Well, I don't exactly have any money on me and..." His statement was interrupted by another whack to his head.

"Did I say I was going to charge you? Just hop on, sonny." she stated as Naruto quickly got the flying broom, afraid of another hit to his already hurt scalp. "Good boy. To the cafe, Balai."

Suddenly, the broom went flying at speeds Naruto was not expecting as they both flew down the street, narrowly avoiding the other people walking on the ground. His face flapped back from the break neck speed and as soon as they started, they stopped just as fast. The sudden stop caused Naruto to flip over the old lady and land on his back on the rough pavement. He groaned as he slowly lifted himself up and turned to see the old lady smiling at him from on top of her broom.

"Sorry, most people aren't used to flying brooms anymore. They're an old style of magic that most mages don't use anymore. Not with those magic carriages and buggies they use nowadays. Heck, very few even use flying carpets anymore! Darn youths." she stated as she hopped off her broom and walked into her small cafe. Naruto listened to her rambling in shock and surprise at what she was saying, gathering all the details he needed to get by in this weird place.

_'Magic? Mages? Flying carpets and brooms? I thought magic was tricks performers use to entertain kids at parties?'_ he thought to himself as he watched the lady move across the empty cafe and behind the counter.

"I mean, look at you! You're all dirty and covered in scrapes! You young people just live life wildly and carefree! What kind of magic do you use anyways?" she asked, waving a large wooden spoon at the blonde who sat down on a stool in front of her.

"Magic? Me? How do you know I can use magic?" Naruto asked curiously. Far as he knew, he couldn't pull a quarter from behind someone's ear or a rabbit from a hat.

"Oh, don't tell me you're a newbie? Did you just unlock your magic potential? Even a novice could feel the amount of magical energy you're giving off right now, boy." she snapped back at him as she prepared something out of his line of sight. "You must be a late bloomer to just now unlock magic, ten percent or not. Must not be the sharpest tool in the kitchen, are you?"

"I have you know I am one of the best in my village!" Naruto argued back before the old lady scoffed loudly.

"Village? Oh, you're one of those small hillbillies from a tiny settlement in the middle of nowhere. So what? You're mother is also your sister and your brother is your grandpa?" she laughed loudly, stirring a random pot. "You're your own uncle!"

"Listen old hag! I'm a hero! I'm the best shinobi there is and from a huge place called Konoh..." Naruto froze in mid statement, his body unable to move as the old lady raised a hand up. Her back was still to him as she continued to stir the pot with her other hand.

"Naruto, I know who you are. You're a shinobi from a village called Konoha in the Land of Fire. You were in such a large battle unlike one I never seen before. Then suddenly, you found yourself falling from the sky." the old lady stated nonchalantly as she threw in some ingredients into the large pot. "Did I get it all right? It's been a long while since I bother to read someone's mind, but you just seemed so interesting. Most definitely been a long while since I found someone interesting."

"Then why the act?" Naruto's eyes steeled at the elderly woman. "Who are you?"

"Oh, just call me Maggie and about the act. I just wanted to see if I could get you to break your silly 'rule' about your sneaky spy act." Maggie laughed hoarsely. She grabbed a ladle and poured something into a large bowl before placing it in front of the paralyzed blonde. "Oh yeah, sorry about the 'not moving thing'. Been ages since I used my** Stone Charm**."

Maggie waved her hand again, this time Naruto could see a small ring on one of her fingers glow briefly before he could feel himself move again. "Now, I believe you are a fan of Ramen?"

Naruto looked down and drooled as he noticed the bowl of his delicious ramen in front of him and dove right into it. He didn't care that this old lady was doing things he had never seen before or that this may be some kind of trap or genjutsu. This was ramen he was talking about! "Thanks baa-san!"

Maggie simply smiled with her eyes closed as the blonde in front of her basically inhaled the noodle soup she had placed on the counter. He knew he should be more cautious, but there was something about this place that instantly relaxed him. Through all the surprises and soreness he was feeling, he forgot to ask another question that popped into his mind earlier.

"You said something about me having a lot of magic in me. What do you mean? Do you call chakra here, magic?" he asked between slurps.

"No, from what I can tell in your head, chakra isn't like magic. You seem to develop your 'chakra' on your own, inside your body. Here, we absorb magic through the Eternano in the air and fill up our reserves. But you don't have chakra, you most certain have magic. It's rolling off your body like water. You must have a large reserve to hold that much magic." Maggie pointed out before looking into his eyes deeply. "It's strange, going through your memories. Such a beautiful place, yet so much hate and war. Young children becoming weapons, adults rarely living to old age, only for those to live long enough to have children of their own to becoming weapons again."

Naruto silently place his spoon down, for once not finishing his ramen with the gusto he normally did. "I know it can seem like that, especially if you are just seeing my memories like a film. You're not a part of that place. You can't feel the connection we have with each other or our strive for peace. Shinobi aren't just weapons. We protect our village and our precious people."

"I see, then I apologize. Like I said, it's been a while since I used my** Memory Walk** magic. But it's still very strange though. I've lived in Fiore my whole life, but I've heard of the other kingdoms and lands and I've never heard of the names of the villages in your head or the _ninjutsu_ you shinobi use. I've only heard of ninjas in stories and books, but never in real life." Maggie confessed, which only confirmed Naruto's worse fear. Her eyes widened as she saw what the blonde shinobi was thinking of and shook her head.

"No, there's no way. That's impossible. There's is no such magic to do that sort of thing. I mean, there is magic to create pocket dimensions like **Requip**, but to do what you're thinking of...it's impossible." she stated incredibly.

"Not in my...dimension. We have jutsu that bring objects or people across from a whole other place and even one that brings back the dead. Spirits, demons, shinobi. It's very possible. Something or someone used some type of jutsu on me and ripped me away from Konoha and literally dropped me here." Naruto stated with a rare moment of wise insight. It was the only thing that made sense, as much as he didn't want to believe it. He's not lost in another land, he's lost in another world.

"Okay, I believe I understand your thinking, but I think you forgot about your original question and my discovery. A important clue on how and why you ended up here." Maggie raised a point as Naruto's eyes widened in realization.

"So then, if I'm from another world..." He muttered softly, his blue eyes looking at his healed palms.

"How do I have magic?"


	3. Mirajane falling for him Literally

_**Naked and Falling **_

_AN: Thank you for the reviews and questions. I hope I answered most, if not all of them. Pairing is still up for debate. So far, I've seen two reviews about it. If you have an opinion or a good reason for a certain pairing, please feel free to mention it in a review. I welcome all criticism. I know the next few chapter will seem like things are going a little slow, but that's only to set the tone for the rest of the story and non stop action. Please enjoy the next chapter._

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**Chapter Three: Mirajane falling for him. Literally.**

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"Hmm."

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"Hmm."

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"Hmm..OH...no...no...Hmm."

"Seriously? Come on, baa-san. Just tell me what you see." Naruto asked out of frustration. The woman he has come to know as Maggie had been sitting down in front of him for about half a hour. She had her hands on either side of his head, trying to dig further into his lost time between defeating Nagato and arriving here in Magnolia Town. So far, Naruto had heard nothing but 'Hmm' come out of her mouth.

"My** Memory Walk** isn't as easy as I made it seem, boy. I basically see what you have seen in the past, but because you don't remember what happened to you..." she started to point out the obvious to the lost ninja.

"You can't see what happened." he finished with a sigh of defeat. "Well, thanks for trying again anyways."

"Boy, it's not all lost. You don't have to try so hard to find out what brought you here. You should just try and accept it, enjoy life here. From what I've seen, you most certainly deserve it." Maggie stated with a soft look in her eyes. He had been here for a week already and everyday, he had her walk his mind to see what had happened to him. She tried to explain that her magic didn't work that way, but he was determined to find a way back home.

From what she saw in his memories, she had no idea why. Such pain and suffering he experienced as a child, it would have driven a grown man insane. She found the blonde to be truly a kind soul, helping her out in her noodle shop since she fed him that first day. She also tried to help him along with learning about his magic, but he only seemed to focus on how to get back home. He did however, want to know how his chakra was replaced by magic and how to get rid of it.

"I'm sorry, Miss Maggie. But I just can't. Too many people are relying on me back home. I may have defeated Nagato, but the Akatsuki is still out there and that masked guy too." Naruto explained once more as he stood up and started to get the tables ready for the lunch rush. "How can I just live in paradise while everyone I care about it still in danger."

"Ahh, yes, yes. But, didn't you say the goal of that group was to gather all nine of those tailed beasts for some kind of ultimate weapon? You said it yourself you hold the strongest of them all. You being here destroyed whatever they had planned!" she pointed out, getting out of her chair and made her away around the counter. "Problem solved."

"Problem not solved. I told you, he's not there anymore." Naruto reminded the elderly woman about what he had discovered a few days ago. He went into deep meditation to ask the Kyuubi what he knew about what had happened to him. But much to his shock and horror, he found the cell in his mind empty. Nothing at all. The seal was still there, but no Kyuubi. He tried not to think about it, but he feared the worse.

The worse being that somehow, the Kyuubi was left behind in his world while he was thrown into this one.

"He may not be there anymore, but you don't know that the beast was left behind. You said yourself that the seal is still intact. There's more to this story than you know, boy. Now, if you refuse to listen to reason or my instruction about how to use magic, at least go to the market and get the things on this list for me. I'm so weak and old, I can hardly walk there and back. Let alone with groceries. I'm so lucky to have a big, strong, young man like you to help little old me." Maggie feigned as Naruto rolled his eyes at her performance.

"Yeah right. With Balai, you are a freaking danger to society. Crazy, old lady." Naruto muttered before reaching out and grabbing the list from Maggie, but not before receiving a hit on the head by her paper fan. "Ow!"

"Don't you forget it! Now get going!" she shoo'd him out of the cafe with her broom, Naruto laughing the whole way out. She stood in the doorway and watched as the blonde hero from another world walked down the street. Her stern face quickly turned concerned about how Naruto would end up after he lets go of the idea of ever going back to his home. She could only hope he can accept his fate and maybe, just maybe make a home here.

She had suggested to him about joining a guild, to discover the great pleasure of being able to use magic. To join a family, as it were. Maggie smiled as she looked down at her ankle and slightly lifted her long, brown dress up, revealing a pink mark in the shape of a fairy. Joining a family as warm and caring as Fairy Tail might be just the thing he needed to finally settle here. It did for her when she joined that crazy guild. She made friends, fell in love, and so much more in her long life before retiring to her calm life of a noodle shop owner.

Plus, she could use a hand in the cafe and the boy was attracting the attention of many young ladies in town. Most of them coming in the shop and ordering food, just to stare at the very muscular ninja in his tight jeans serving them. His abs and pecs glistening in sweat from the heat of the pots and bowls. His white muscle shirt which he became fond of, hiding very little of those tanned muscles. Maggie sighed as she turned around and walked back into the cafe.

If only she were 60 years younger.

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"Crazy old lady. Telling me what to do and whacking me on the head." Naruto mumbled as he looked over the list of food that Miss Maggie needed for her soups and ramen. A goofy smile came across his face as he daydreamed about her delicious ramen. Every bite was a familiar taste and it made him think about home whenever he ate a bowl. Her ramen was the one thing he had here in this strange place that reminded him of Konoha.

Home.

It seemed like an impossible dream now. But he did understand what the woman was telling him. Some of what Maggie had told him he could see right here. This was a truly beautiful place. Such peace and love in the air and no threat of death and war lingering. People smiled at him here and he didn't have to save their lives or anything. He had to admit as well, the whole magic thing was pretty cool too. He was told in the many lessons that the old lady tried to teach him, that even though every person had magic in them; only about 10 percent could use it.

He was curious about his own apparent magic, that much was true. But he didn't want to bother, only wanting to find about any magic that could get him back home. But he had to confess, he could see himself living here. Make a life for himself here, living as a 'mage' and joining that guild that Maggie has been telling him about. He shook his head of the thoughts as he made his way through the busy streets that led to the grand market in the center of town. The first time he went, he got lost for hours and was scolded by the old lady for missing the lunch shift.

The second time he went, he tried something different. He didn't tell his temporary boss about it, it would only fuel her drive to convince to stay here. He figured, like in his world, that using Sage mode here would work in a similar way. Just with magic instead of chakra. He stood still and focused like he would do with chakra and then suddenly, it had hit him like nothing he ever felt before.

He could feel everyone in town. All the magic in the air, he could see it! Streams of colored lines leading here, there, everywhere. It was a beautiful sight to see and the rush of magic coursing through his body was like nothing he ever felt before. It was as if he could fly, connecting to all the magic in the air. Every kind with its own color, leading towards him as he absorbed the warm energy. He wanted to do it again just from thinking about it, but he couldn't. It was too tempting to have the magic in him, making him want to discover what he was capable of and what he can do.

Naruto ran a hand through his hair and returned a smile to a group of girls were giving him one along with a set of giggles. He chuckled to himself as he averted his eyes away from the fan girls and continued his way into the vast market._ 'A guy can get use to this.'_

Naruto stopped at a vegetable stand and smiled at the elderly couple who ran the food stall. "Morning Mr. and Mrs. Vanders. Need some more stuff again."

"Oh, that Miss Maggie. She is so lucky to found you as an employee. We've been telling her for years that she needed some help. You're such a nice man." Mrs. Vanders praised the blonde as she took the list from his hand and started to load up a basket her husband carried. Naruto couldn't help but feel the love again as he watched the older couple flirt with each other as they loaded up a basket of vegetables for him. Maybe Miss Maggie had a point about staying here. What chance did he have anyways of getting back?

It had been a week since the fight with Nagato. Most likely, everyone back home thought he died in the fight._ 'Well, I did say when I was young that I wanted to be on that K.I.A memorial.'_

Suddenly, something hard hit his head and interrupted his thoughts. He turned quickly to see a young woman carrying an insane amount of items about to fall forward and reacted just as fast. He caught the flying bag of groceries in one arm and in the other, managed to catch the falling young lady just before she hit the ground. He wanted to ask if she was alright, but just then, got caught up in the equally blue eyes of the girl in his arm. She had beautiful pale skin and long, flowing white hair that had a small ponytail tied at the top of her forehead.

"Wow, uh...thank you so much!" the girl finally broke the silence, her arms wrapped around the blonde's neck as she stared back into his equally blue eyes. A small blush came across her cheeks as she felt his hard muscles underneath her arms. She was amazed on how quickly he reacted and caught her after she tripped on a rock. Seconds went by until they realized they were in the same position as many people were now staring at them, including an angry group of fan girls with tears in their eyes.

"Oh, I'm...I'm sorry. You're welcome." Naruto finally answered as he pulled the white haired girl back to her feet and readjusted the bag in his other arm to his other arm. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine, thanks to you. And thank you so much for saving my groceries!" she beamed at him before taking the bag out of his arms. "Master would be upset if I didn't come back with this."

"No problem, Miss..."

"Mirajane, my name is Mirajane." the beautiful girl smiled at him once again with a slight blush. "And you are?"

"Naruto. It's nice to meet you, Mirajane. You and your apple." Naruto joked as he picked up the busted apple that hit his head in the first place when she tripped. "Sorry about that."

"No! No! It's my fault. I should have looked where I was going. Are you okay?" Mirajane asked seriously, making the blonde laugh as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it." he reassured her as Mrs. Vanders called his attention and handed him his basket of vegetables. "Oh, thank you. Here you go."

Naruto pulled out some money and told the happy couple to keep the change. For some reason, the pair began walking down the street along side of each other as they began to chat. "So, where you heading?"

"Back to the guild I'm from. I'm the bartender there. Have you heard of it? It's called Fairy Tail." Naruto raised an eyebrow at the luck he had running into a member of the guild that Miss Maggie had been trying to convinced him to join earlier. "I'm also a mage."

"Wow, really? That's cool. I just learned that I can use magic." Naruto regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth. What if she wanted a display of his magic? He didn't want to admit that he couldn't do anything yet. "I mean, I didn't _just_ learn how to use mag..."

"It's okay." Mirajane giggled at his embarrassment. "I know many late bloomers who discovered magic late in their life."

"Really?"

"No."

Naruto face planted as Mirajane giggled even more at his act. "That's not funny at all. I was just.._.occupied_ for the first 17 years of my life."

"You're only 17?" she screeched in shock. "You looked older than me and I'm 19! You got to be a least 6'3 and those muscles...wow, those muscles"

This time, Mirajane was the one embarrassed as she looked away to try and hide the blush on her face. "I...I mean, you just...I'm just going to be quiet now."

But Naruto wasn't laughing. He knew exactly what she was talking about. He noticed later that night on the day he arrived that something was wrong. When he looked in a mirror of the room Maggie had him sleeping in, he was in for a shock. He looked older and stronger. His hair was longer to where he had to tie most of it back and his face was leaner, all baby fat gone from his cheeks. It was just another detail he had to figure out along with all the other questions. He was so enthralled in his thoughts, he didn't notice Mirajane staring at him with concern on his face.

"Are you okay? Did I say something wrong or..."

"No, no. I'm sorry. It's just...it's been a really hard week for me. I'm not from around here, so to speak and like I said, recently discovered about my magic potential. It's been a lot to take it lately." he confessed much to his surprise. There was definitely something about this girl that made him open up when he had barely talked to anyone on a personal level all week except for Maggie.

"Well, would you like to talk about it? I know we just met, but I can lend a ear if you want?" Mirajane asked in a cute voice, another blush appearing on her cheeks.

"I...I would actually like that. Except, I need to help my boss with the lunch rush, but maybe later tonight? If it's still okay, of course." he nervously threw back the question, never actually having the experience of talking to a girl like this. Ever.

"No, of course it's okay. How about you meet me in the market square tonight about 9?"

"Sure. I guess I'll see you then. This is my stop." Naruto pointed to the noodle shop he was helping out for the time being.

"Okay then. I'll see you tonight." Mirajane answered and turned to leave, but not before she quickly turned back and kissed him on the cheek. Her cheeks turning even more red as she lightly jogged away, leaving Naruto alone in front of the shop.

He just stood there for a few moments, watching the white haired girl jogging away. His eyes lowering themselves to her nicely curved backside in her purple dress before tearing his eyes away from the amazing sight. Great, now he was going to be just like his sensei. But he couldn't help it. The girl had an amazing figure, one his teacher would be proud to write about. Maybe he could write his own version of Icha Icha and earn some good cash that way? Naruto chuckled to himself as he turned to enter the shop to prepare for the lunch rush.

Only to have a huge pot smack him right in the face.

"YOU ARE LATE AGAIN, BOY!"


	4. He fell for Erza Literally

_**Naked and Falling **_

_AN: Here we are with the next round of questions. #1. I haven't put the year in the story yet because I'm still deciding between two paths. One being longer than the other. But as you can tell by Mirajane that it's after Lisanna's 'death' and before Lucy. #2. Naruto's magic will be revealed in this chapter, but not it's not what it seems to be. #3. For those who question some of the grammar, the first letter of the first word after a character's statement is not capitalized unless it's a name. That's proper grammar in writing a story/novel. Don't worry. It's a common mistake most writers on here make. I just read a ton of books and realized that was proper grammar. #4. yes. I love you too, lol._

* * *

**Chapter Four: He fell for Erza. Literally.**

* * *

"Okay...tell me why we're up here again, Maggie?" Naruto muttered nervously as the said woman flew the both of them high above Magnolia Town. They were both on the broom known as Balai and with every foot they climbed into the air, the blonde was getting more nervous.

"I told you that this was important in discovering how you came here, boy. Remember?" Maggie laughed at the boy's shakiness as they zoomed up in the air in long, spiral patterns.

"No, I don't remember. All you told me was,_ 'Boy! Get on before I whack you on the head with the pot again!'_ and then we took off like a bat out of Hell!" he yelled from behind, holding on tight to his end of the long broom.

"Oh yeah, I did say that," she laughed loudly. "I meant to tell you the lie first."

Naruto's frightened face turn deadpanned as all emotion and color left his face. "Lie?"

"Yep. I was going to tell you that so you'd come up here with me, then I was going to pull the rug from under you." Maggie cackled lightly, imitating a witch in every sense of the word.

"Why?! Why did you do that, or I mean, not do that...you know what I mean!" he shouted as they came to an abrupt stop, high in the sky near where Naruto found himself falling a week and a half ago.

"Easy. I know that you want to know about what you are capable of in terms of magic. What was the first lesson I explained to you about a mage learning magic?" she asked the shaky hero from another world.

"Mo...most mages learn the magic they use while others discover an innate ability t...to a certain type of magic." his voice came out in a trembling tone, his eyes glues to the tiny landscape in the bottom. At least they weren't as high as he found himself that day. But still, he can become a pancake at this height.

"Right, boy. Such a good student and here I thought you weren't paying attention, cheeky boy. What was lesson two?"

"Two...TWO types of magic!" Naruto's voice rose as Maggie swung her broom back and forth to frighten him. "Holder and Caster!"

"Well done! Now, number three?"

"Each type of magic has its own magic seal which consist of different designs of runes and colors. Sometimes it appears, sometimes it doesn't!"

"Good, good! Now, for the million jewel question. What type do you think you unleashed to save yourself last week from becoming a stain on the streets of Magnolia Town?" she asked with a serious voice.

"Caster, caster I think! Why are you asking me these questions?" Naruto begged for an answer.

"Because I know for a fact that you ARE interested in discovering your magic, more than just trying to find a way back home. I heard about your little date with the famous Mirajane Strauss of Fairy Tail. My my, aiming high on the food chain, are we? The cover girl of Sorcerer Weekly, you cheeky boy." Maggie cackled.

"That wasn't a date! It was just two people having coffee together. We just talked," his face turned red for a moment. "That's it!"

"Right, right. So I've heard. It's the talk of the town. At least, among the non-magical civilians. But I do know that she peaked your interest about using magic. So, that's why we're here. To get you to confess it."

Naruto let out the biggest sigh of his life, relieved that his previous thoughts was wrong. So that's what she had planned. "Oh, that's all. Well, you succeeded. Now let's go back down, please."

Maggie cocked her head at the blonde, a curious gleam in her eyes. "Well, now _that's_ a great idea. Wish I thought of it."

"Okay, well then take us down." he repeated, but Maggie shook her head.

"No, I mean the one you just thought of before. Let's see how that plays out." she grinned as she turned the broom upside. "Dropping you so you can be forced to use your magic again to save your life. Genius."

...

...

...

"CRAAAAAAAAAAAAP!" Naruto shouted after falling off and losing his grip on the broomstick, watching Maggie disappear in the sky as she waved goodbye to him. "DAAAAAAAAMN YOOOOOUUUUUUU, BAAAAAAAAA-SAAAAAAAAN!"

And now here he was again, falling in the sky. At least he wasn't naked this time.

"Crap! Crap! Crap! How in the hell am I supposed to do this?" Naruto shouted, his words once again getting lost in the air. He just had to mention to Mirajane about his desire to feel the rush again of magic. He didn't tell her about his past or where he came from, of course. Just told her his experience of feeling magic for the first time.

The brilliant colors. How they streamed from every direction, limited only by his eyesight. But he could feel the threads of magic everywhere in his Sage mode. Connecting everyone to each other. When he told her this, she seemed entranced and amazed at his description. For the first time, he felt like someone actually wanted to talk to him seriously and so he told her about his secret desire to learn more about magic.

_'Sigh...freaking, mind reading, old hag.'_

How the hell was he going to use magic when he didn't even know what he did in the first place? All he can do is go into Sage mode and even then, all it was is seeing magic in the air that connected to people and...

Connected. _Connection._

_'Every strand of color I saw led to someone. That stream represents them absorbing magic from the Eternano in the air. If I could see them absorbing magic, that mean I can see mine!_

Naruto slammed his fists together and focused on entering Sage mode in the next few seconds before it became too late to do anything. He opened his eyes as the familiar rush of magic entered his body, giving him abilities he didn't have before. It may not be the magic that saved him, but it can help him find it. It was amazing to see the dome of colored strings covering the rapidly growing town down below him. But he didn't have time to enjoy the image, he needed to find it. He need to find the color stream that led into his body.

Even though he was so high, he could see see hundreds upon hundreds of color strings around him and had trouble finding his own. What was so hard about finding a single strand leading to his body? He was running out of time and he needed to find it now before it was too late! He looked through the streams of colors, some shades that he didn't even know existed.

_'Wait, what's that one?'_ His eyes focused on one string in particular, one more red than the brightest rose and yet, more darker that the darkest wine. He reached out to grab it, knowing he only had a couple of seconds before he fell to his death. His hand gripped the crimson strand as Naruto let out a powerful yell and pulled on it.

"Believe it!" He shouted in victory as a large, red magical seal appeared before him and suddenly, he found himself just missing the top of the building he was about to hit. He was...He was...

He was flying!

Naruto laughed out loud as he flew right above the buildings of Magnolia Town, now realizing how he saved himself that day. He must have flew himself at a angle, cutting down on his momentum and dropped himself down. It was right there in front of him, but he was so scared of dying, he must have been literally blinded by fear. He was covered head to toe in red colored magic, like the way his Kyuubi mode used to do. But this wasn't a cloak in the shape of a fox, his entire body was outlined in a perfect streamline of red, and seemed to be the source of his flying ability.

It was like a combination of having a cloak of energy, but having it completely under control.

It was amazing!

But then, he realized another detail.

"I can't stop. I can't stop! Son of a BIIIIIII..." Naruto screamed out as he descended too low and found himself hitting and skipping like a rock on a lake. Except in this case, the lake being the rooftops of the town.

"OW!'

"OUCH"

"SON OF..."

"...A BITCH!"

"AARGGGHHH!" the blonde shouted out in pain as he finally landed and rolled across a large rooftop like a ball before falling through a square opening in the middle. "AAAAAHHHHHH!"

Suddenly, water splashed everywhere as he landed hard in some kind of pool of hot water. His eyes popped open and bubbles came out of his mouth instead of screams under the scalding hot water. Naruto pushed his hands hard against the water as he swam up and lifted his head above the top of the water. He took in a deep breath before coughing loudly out of his mouth. His eyes shut tightly from the sudden pain of hot water against his skin as he let out a sigh of relief and rested his head on a smooth stone.

Except, this was the softest stone he ever felt. Actually, correction. Make that_ two_ of the softest stones he ever felt.

A goofy smile appeared on his face as he rubbed his face on the stones, enjoying the softest feeling he ever had pressing against his face. It was almost heaven to him and welcomed after such a frantic 30 seconds he had before...

"Ahem."

His eyes shot opened as he heard a voice, a very_ female_ voice speaking from above his head. Naruto closed his eyes again as a sigh of realization escaped from his lips.

"I'm not rubbing my face on a pair of stones, am I?"

"No, you are not." The voice spoke to him again as he kept his eyes closed, not wanting to anger the female by oogling her rather large bust. He pointed his face upwards before opening his eyes again as one of the most beautiful redheads he ever seen appeared in his vision. Unfortunately, that beautiful face also came with one of the most angry and scariest looks Naruto had ever seen in his life.

"Hi, I'm Naruto." he whispered nervously, fear striking him in the heart, even more so when a sinister grin appeared on the redhead's lips.

"Erza. Erza Scarlet." she answered back before raising a hand above her head, a rather large mace appearing from nowhere in a bright light as she gripped the handle tightly.

"And this is Mr. Smashy."

* * *

Chunks of plaster, wood, and rocks blasted out of the entrance way of Magnolia Town's famous onsen, scaring many of the passing bystanders as loud battle cries came from the giant hole. Suddenly, a blonde figure shot out of the smoke, his arms crossed over his face in a defensive manner before landing on his feet in the street. Soon followed by a young, red haired woman, clad only in a towel wrapped around her curvy body. Her mace disappeared along with her towel in a bright light, causing many men to jeer in the street and pass out from bloodlust.

Only to be replace by battle armor covering a school girl outfit. Two broadswords also appeared in each hand as Erza charged at Naruto in a rage filled fury. "PERVERT!"

"NO! NO! YOU'RE WRONG!" Naruto tried to reason with the angry weapon user, dodging fast swings from her swords. "I'M NOT LYING! I WAS JUST LEARNING HOW TO FLY!"

"LIAR! I DON'T SEE WINGS OR A ROCKET PACK ON YOUR BACK!" Erza twisted her body as she leapt into the air and swung both blades down in a X pattern. " NOW DIE!"

"HOLY CRAP!" the blonde shouted before pivoting backwards on his hand and twisted himself out of the way. He pushed himself put out of the way and tried to keep some distance between them. He needed to figure out how to cool her down before someone got hurt. What he needed to do was try and fly again. But so far, he needed to go into Sage mode to find and activate his magic and for that, he needed to stand still.

"ARRRGHHH!" Erza kept toe to toe with Naruto as he kept up with the dodging of her powerful swings. Yeah, there was no way he'd have time to stand still and go into Sage mode. He just needed to do this on his own and go on the offensive. He waited until she swung both swords at the same time and quickly rushed into her guard, surprising the redhead at his sudden speed.

Just as quick, he struck her left wrist with a open palm and with the other, grab her right wrist before twisting it outwards. The sudden movement caused Erza's fingers to loosen their grip for a moment, but that was all Naruto needed as he spun away from Erza and grabbed both swords by the handles. He pushed away from inside her guard and back flipped away twice before landing on one knee, driving both points of her swords into the ground.

"Okay, now can we talk like reasonable people?" Naruto asked calmly. "What happened was an accident. I was flying, then I fell. Simple as that."

Erza was still in shock and awe on how fast the blonde was, disarming her in a matter of moments after getting inside her guard. He could have struck her down, but instead he put space between them and disarmed himself too. Her eyes steeled as she tried to get a good look at the blonde who was rubbing his face in her breasts not a minute ago.

"You're not lying, are you?"

"No, I'm not. My crazy teacher dropped me from her broom way up air above the town in hope that I will learn how to use my magic." Naruto confessed with a sweat drop on his forehead.

"Now you're lying." Erza accused him as she requipped a long spear into her hands. "Do you want to meet Mr. Pointy?"

"I'm serious! Miss Maggie just dropped me and..."

"Miss Maggie? The noodle shop owner?" Erza's face turned from angry to curious as the spear in her hands and the swords in the ground disappeared in another flash of light. "You're her student?"

"In a manner of speaking, yeah. I just help her out in the cafe, but she's been trying to get me to use magic lately. Like by dropping me out of the sky, the crazy, old bat." Naruto rubbed the back of his head as he told the redhead his story. "So then as I fell from the sky, I found myself glowing in a red light and flying in mid air, but then realized I couldn't stop and fell into that onsen."

"Where you thought my breasts were stones? Should I been offended by that instead?" Erza taunted much to Naruto's chagrin.

"The softest stones I ever felt! The softest!" he shouted before sighing. "Can we just, not fight any more? People are starting to stare and I think the owner of that onsen wants to charge you for the damages."

Erza's eyes popped open comically as she felt a chill go up her spine. The owner with an evil look in his eyes and a bill in his hand stood behind the sword mage. She whipped her head and and pointed behind her in a tattletale manner.

"He was there too! He caused the damages in the first place! I will honor my half, but he needs to pay for the other!" she exclaimed in an accusing voice. "Him!"

"Him who? Ain't nobody there, Miss Scarlet." the old owner pointed out as Erza whipped her head back and saw an empty spot where the blonde was a moment ago. "All I see is you and a whole bunch of damages to my onsen.

But Erza ignored the onsen keeper and looked up to see the blonde flying above, true to his word that he was flying without wings or a rocket pack. She had never seen such magic as this before and his eyes, his eyes had red eyeliner underneath them that was not there before. She was so amazed at his appearance that she almost forgot to be angry at him until he gave her a big grin, waving goodbye at her. Steam escaped her ears as the blonde flew away, albeit in a clumsy way, with a trail of crimson behind him.

That word. That name. That was something she will never forget as long as she lived.

"NARUTO!"

The lost hero chuckled to himself as he slowly glided away from the scene as carefully as he could, trying to his best not to break down laughing from leaving the scary redhead with the bill. It was her fault, of course. He had nothing to be ashamed of with leaving. She was the one who went insane with 'Mr. Smashy' inside the hot water building. He tried to explain his accident, but she had to be all unreasonable with him and all murderous.

Her reaction to Miss Maggie being his teacher though did catch his attention. There was more to the old woman than meets the eye. She was confident that he would survive the fall by using his magic. Did she know he could fly? Was that all he could do? Does she know if he was capable of more than just flight? Erza was convinced that no mage could fly without some type of support magic to grant them an ability to fly.

What was this energy surrounding his body and what more could he do with such magic?

He had a lot of questions and needed answers as he carefully turned himself toward the noodle shop. He was still in Sage mode as the color streams whipped across his face and body. It was almost like water and he could swim through the thick waves of magic, jet streaming through the different shades of colors. Naruto mused to himself once more. Maybe he shouldn't call it Sage mode anymore. It wasn't his world and it wasn't chakra that gave him strength anymore. It was magic and he wasn't a shinobi or a sage anymore. He was now officially a mage.

Mage mode.

"Mage mode?, huh. Hmm, has a nice ring too it." Maggie whispered to no one as she read the mind of her young student flying below her. Unaware that she had been watching him the whole time, even with his ability to sense others. Ready to save him if he had failed to summon his magic. Not that she had any doubt he wouldn't. He was a powerful soul and a great hero from another world.

So great that the universe in all its wisdom, saw fit to send the lost hero here to Fiore and save this world. She knew troubling times were coming ahead and this world needed a hero to lead others to protect it. It was her duty to find that hero and train him to do so. She just never thought it would be a man from another world. Now, he just needed a little more pushing down the right path and Fairy Tail was right on that path.

"Naruto, my boy. You will be the greatest hero again..." Maggie started to say until another voice rang into the sky.

"NARUTO! I WILL KILL YOU!"

She sighed.

" If you're not killed first."


	5. Don't drink and fly

_**Naked and Falling **_

_AN: Round five for questions. #1. If I had to pick a theme song for this story, it would be the one I listen to for my muse. Which is 'Letting the Cables Sleep' by Bush. It's lyrics and emotions is perfect for Naruto's situation. #2. Things will really start to kick up when Naruto joins Fairy Tail, meaning the canon story line will go into full effect. Naruto will be part of some missions that are canon, some will be made up for fun and good times. #3. Sigh...yes. The way Naruto looks when he flies is like a member of the Red Lantern Corp. Fine, you happy? :P Now, on to the story._

* * *

**Chapter Five: Don't drink and fly.**

* * *

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Erza Scarlet of all people to land on and she was naked! Oh! Oh! Oh, tha...that's priceless. The Titania of Fairy Tail, one of the most powerful mages in all of Fiore and you motorboat'd her! BWAHAHAHA!" Miss Maggie cackled for the hundredth time.

A tick appeared on Naruto's forehead as he had to listen to his teacher's laughter yet again. He mumbled to himself, talking about crazy, old ladies as he cleared the last of the plates off the table from the dinner rush. Miss Maggie just ignored the blonde's angry mumbles and continued to laugh at her student/employee's bad run of luck.

"Oh, come on. You have to admit, it's funny as Hell! Going after two of the most beautiful mages in Fairy Tail? My, my, you cheeky boy. You have a big set of ba..."

"Baa-san! Like I said, it's just coffee! Once in a while, Mirajane and I meet for coffee! Friends do that and by the way, running for my life from Erza Scarlet isn't a date. It's attempted murder!" Naruto exclaimed with a big head, reminding himself of how Iruka-sensei used to do the same to him. Now he understood how annoying he must have been as a child, dealing with one who was disguising herself as a old woman.

"It wouldn't have happened if you didn't dropped me in the middle of the sky!" he shouted, placing the bin of dishes in the sink. "I have been paranoid and looking over my shoulder for the past three days!"

"Oh, I'm sure she's had a chance to cool down. Or maybe she's on a mission and when she comes back, she'll put your head on a stick." the elderly woman teased. "And I'm not talking about the one on your shoulders."

That made Naruto shiver.

"Okay, I think I had enough for one night. I'm just gonna clean up and head upstairs to bed." Naruto gave up and started to wipe down the tables. Miss Maggie's laughter calmed down a little, wiping a tear from her eye before patting the blonde on the back.

"Come on, now. You're young. You should going out and mingling with the other youngsters. Fairy Tail would be a good place to have a drink. It's always a hoot there." she grinned, trying to once again get Naruto to join Fairy tail. But he saw through her ploy as usual and he didn't even need to be a mind reader like his unwanted teacher.

"Sure, sure. Nice try. Go home, baa-san. I'll finish up here and turn off the lights before heading up to the loft." Naruto retorted, flipping bar stools upside down and setting them on the counter.

"Hey, I tried. You keep everyone at arms length for now if you want. But eventually, you'll want to be part of a family. This is your home now, my boy. I'm not trying to be negative, just a realist." Maggie stated in a soft voice.

Naruto sighed. "You're all the family I need right now, Maggie and this noodle shop is all the home I need. I...I don't want to get too close to a lot of people just to say goodbye when I find a way home. People there need me and I just can't give up, settle down in a peaceful life knowing that my home could be on the verge of a war."

"Ahh, you broken record. Don't make me say it again. There could be many different scenarios that happened to you. This could be your world for all you know and you could be in the future by like, a thousand years. Maybe time runs faster in your world than here and everyone one you knew is long gone? Point is, it's good to have hope, but only to a certain extent. You have to consider the fact you are here and might be for the rest of your life!"

"I know! I know!" Naruto shouted seriously for the first time, making Maggie flinch for a moment. These past two weeks, the boy had never raised his voice to her that wasn't part of their silly banter. She might have pushed him a little too far, a little too fast. "I know I could be here forever, but...I just can't ever give up on the hope that I can get back."

Naruto closed his eyes and turned away from the elderly woman before letting out a sigh of defeat.

"Even if I have to hope every day until the reaper comes calling for me. My heart just won't let me." Naruto lifted up the last bar stool and set it down before heading to the sink to wash the dishes. Maggie just kept quiet as she watched the guilt ridden hero, a young man who defeat a self proclaimed god and keeper of the most powerful demon in creation...wash dishes in a world where he didn't belong.

She could see how that could affect a person. Without a word, she grabbed Balai out of the corner and left the lost shinobi to his devices. There were only a certain amount of things she could do for him. Teach him magic, give him a place to stay, be a mother figure to the boy, but there was a hole in his heart that couldn't be filled by anything she could do. It was something only he can do for himself.

Something he had to discover and realize on his own.

Naruto's face contorted to a look of pain as he heard Maggie leave without saying anything, thankful she wouldn't push the subject anymore about him giving up. He was meeting her halfway, willing to work on his magic and such, but there was no way he could just become a part of a family. He felt that would be betraying those he had become close to back home. Breaking his promise to Sakura that he would bring Sasuke back. He couldn't live with that guilt, even if he deserved a better life.

For now, this was all he could bear to have. Maggie and this noodle shop. Sure, he was meeting Mirajane for coffee every so often, but he wouldn't allow himself to get so close to the white haired beauty. Small talk about magic and dreams over coffee was as far as he would let it go. The hide and seek with Erza was sort of fun and he would enjoy it more if he knew that she wouldn't try to maim him. The funny thing about that was that she knew he was working for Maggie and she apparently knew the elderly woman, so why didn't the feisty redhead come here?

He'd never understand women. Not in his world or this one.

Suddenly, a loud noise from the back caught his attention and his ninja training kicked in as he quietly placed down the dish in his hand. In three quick movements, he made his way to the back door of the shop that led to the alley way. The noise continued as he slowly removed his apron, revealing his black muscle shirt and jeans that had a small, black pack strapped onto his thigh.

_'Old habits die hard.'_ Naruto mused to himself playfully before pulling out a small blade that was easily concealed behind his wrist. The noise was now behind the back door as he decided to slip into Mage mode to sense the intruder better. In less time than it normally takes him, he felt himself enter that familiar power and sensed a mage behind the door.

Was it Erza? Did she finally decide to deliver her revenge on the blonde? Naruto focused on the magic stream leading out the door and realized the color was wrong. When he flew over Erza the day he met her, she was surrounded by light red strands of magic. This string leading out the door was a shade of aquamarine. In one quick move, he slipped out of the window near the door and landed behind the intruder.

"One chance. Who are you and what do you want?" Naruto whispered behind the shadowed lady of the night. From the outline of the figure, he knew that they were at least female. That or a guy with long, flowing hair, the simple thought made him shuddered slightly.

Apparently, his words weren't threatening enough as the female spun around and swung a bottle at his head. Instead of dodging, Naruto gripped the handle of the blade backwards and sliced upwards, the bottle being split in half before it reached his head. But in a movement just as quick, the shadowed figure jumped back and threw some kind of square shurikens at him.

Again, in two fast motions, Naruto sliced whatever was thrown at him even though he expected to deflect the objects. He heard the woman swear to herself as she stumbled around, much to the blonde's surprise and pulled out some more of her weapons. He could see the magic swirling around the weapons and somehow, he knew that they were cards that could be used to different effects.

This time, he knew those cards would deliver a powerful explosion and he couldn't have that happened so close to Maggie's noodle shop. In an instant, he close the distance between them and grabbed her wrist. He took the cards out of her hand and held them between his palms. He knew he couldn't throw them, they could hurt someone and so he needed to try out his next..._spell_ he had discovered by accident the other day.

He focused his magic around the cards until a small, red orb appeared outside the cards. His arms flexed as he held his hands on the orb in a squeezing manner. The cards glowed and then exploded inside the sphere of magic in a bright flash of contained fire. Naruto grunted as he contained the explosion, the female gasping at the sight of the blonde holding down one of her powerful spells. The flash of fire disappeared before their very eyes as silence hung in the air between the two mages.

Until Naruto started to dance around, waving his hands in the air in a wild fashion. "Hot! Hot! Hot! Damn it, woman! What were you thinking? An explosion in the middle of a town full of people! Not a smart decision."

"Hey! You were the one sneaking up behind me! For all I know, you could be a rapist or something!" she answered in a slur. Naruto eyes rolled back, knowing now what was the girl's problem was.

"Well, I thought you might be a robber trying to break in or a crazy redhead after my head. But, no...you're just drunk off your ass." he laughed nostalgically. "Actually, you kind of remind me of someone I used to know."

"So...you're not going to try and rape me?"

...

...

...

"NO! Holy crap, no! I work in the cafe right here! I mean, if you're paranoid about that sort of thing, don't walk around at night drunk and wearing only a bikini top instead of a shirt!" Naruto shouted in frustration.

"I have big boobs, shirts are restricting." the young woman slurred as she looked down at her chest and squeezed her goods. "Do you think they're too big?"

"Come on!" Naruto covered his eyes, even though he could still see between his fingers. "Don't do that! Man, I'm going to regret this."

Naruto walked toward the stumbling brunette and pulled her hands away from groping herself and led her to the back door of the noddle shop. "Come on, let's get inside before..."

"You have your way with me in ways only seen in those fancy sex books?"

"NO!"

* * *

The brunette leaned her face into her palms as she rested her elbows on the counter in the cafe. She watched as the blonde was warming something up in a pot, his back toward her as he stirred the liquid in silence. Her eyes watched every move he made. Drunk or not, she was still a skilled mage ready to defend herself if the situation called for it.

But she couldn't help but admire the view of his firm behind in those jeans, however.

"So what's your name, big boy?"

Naruto scoffed as he shook his head and continued to stir inside the pot. "The name's Naruto. How about you?"

"Cana Alberona, not that you would know who I am. Nobody does." Cana sneered before her lips turned into a pout. "Not even my own father."

"Wow, we just went from silence to personal awkwardness in ten seconds. Nice." Naruto chuckled, reaching up for a bowl in the shelves above the stove. "I can assume that was the reason you were drunk behind the shop?"

"I'm not drunk, I'm never drunk. It takes a lot more than one little bottle to get me off my rocker. I was barely buzzed."

"Your breath said otherwise."

"Whatever. That wasn't why anyways, not that you'd care." Cana stated, rubbing the dizziness out of her eyes. "What are you doing, by the way?"

Naruto didn't answer as he spooned a large amount of broth into the bowl and set it in front of the buzzed brunetter, giving her a clear view of his deep blue eyes for the first time. "Here, drink."

"Drink? Give me a spoon." her eyebrow rose an inch.

"It's better if you sip it. It's vegetable broth. It'll clear your head and warm you up from being out in the cool night." the blonde replied softly. It's was funny to him. Over a year ago, he would never eat the things and now here he was cooking them for someone else.

Oh, the irony.

"How did you know I was cold?" Cana asked before raising the bowl to her supple lips and began to sip the broth.

"Uh...the fabric of your bikini top isn't exactly very thick." Naruto blushed at the double meaning of his own words before averting his eyes away from the card mage. "Just drink your soup and go home. Sleep is your only friend tonight."

"No, it isn't apparently." Cana placed the bowl down and gave the blonde a warm smile. "Thank you for the meal. Even if it's an excuse to look at my boobs under the light."

"I said I'm not..." Naruto began to shout before Cana giggled loudly, his eyes rolling back again. "Oh, ha ha. Very funny."

She kept giggling for a few more seconds before calming down and stared at the blonde cook. She leaned forward and rested her elbows on the counter again, her hands placed on top one another.

"So, tell me. How does a noodle chef have such powerful magic, but yet not be a mage?"

Naruto shrugged. "How do you know I'm not?"

"Obviously you're not as clever as you are strong because Fairy Tail in the only guild in Magnolia Town and since you work here, that means you must live here. I know you're not part of Fairy Tail because I am a member of the awesome guild." Cana leaned back again and pointed to her well toned abs, showing her mark. "That or you must be blind."

"Ah, well it's like you said. I'm only staring at your boobs." Naruto teased the brunette who blushed for the first time tonight. Naruto sighed and shrugged his shoulders again. "Well, I'm just a guy who can use magic...barely."

"Barely?"

"Let's just say I just discovered my magic." he held his hand up in the air. "Don't ask, I just did. I'm not very interested to pursue it, but the owner of this shop is also a mage herself and put it on herself to teach me. Against my will, but I give in every so often." Naruto smirked.

"Wow, never met anyone who discovered magic so late in his life or not interested in it." Cana confessed, watching the lost ninja clean up after himself. "So what kind of magic do you use? How did you compress that explosion?"

"That was something I accidently discovered when I was testing how far my magic can go. I had just discovered that I can...well, fly and it involved coating my body with magical energy. My teacher is still trying to help me figure it out. So far, she's determined that it has traits from** Light** magic and** Molding** magic. But it's far more complicated than that." Naruto chuckled.

"Leave it to me to have such an insane power and have no idea how to use it."

Cana just stared at the blonde slack jawed. He could fly? Without wings? "That's amazing! Have you figured out what else you can do?"

"Well, I have this sort of trick that I can do. It's how I discovered my flying ability. I can sense magic and other people within a certain range. I can also see magic in the air which is an understatement because it's hard to describe the sight." the blonde pointed out. "But like I said before, I'm not really trying anyways to figure it out."

"Why not? It's great being a mage and you seem to have a wonderful magic!" Cana asked.

"Why were you drunk in an alley and talking about your father? Hmm? We both just met each other, it's not like we've been friends for a long time. So why should I tell you my personal thoughts and desires? I have no right to ask about your father, you shouldn't ask about my hopes and dreams." Naruto spoke coldly, not trying to offend the brunette, but to point out a simple fact.

"I...I see what you mean. I'm sorry I asked." Cana retorted, awkward silence filled the air once again. "I should go. Thank you for the meal."

"Wait." Naruto called out, stopping the card mage as she stood up off the stool. "No, I'm the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have said it like that. There's...a bit more to me than meets the eye and it's a sensitive subject for me. I actually just got into an argument with my teacher earlier about it. Let me make it up for it."

"How?" Cana cocked an eyebrow, not sure about his intent until he walked past her and unlocked the front door. He waved to her to follow him before exiting the noodle shop. She stood there for a moment before deciding to do what he asked and followed him out. He stood outside, a few feet away from the cafe's doorway with his hand out. The serene look on his face told her that it was okay to trust him as she walked forward and took his hand.

She looked up into his eyes and realized that they were different from a minute ago. There was a line of red underneath both eyes and they shined a brighter blue with a hint of crimson gleaming inside the irises. "When did you put on eyeliner?"

Naruto laughed. "It's not eyeliner, but it's better than orange eye shadow."

Cana cocked her head as the blonde shook his. "Sorry, inside joke. You ready?"

"For what?" she asked as all of a sudden, he pulled her in close to him and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You should hang on tight." Cana subconsciously wrapped her arms around his neck as a questioning look appeared in her eyes. "Let's go."

"Go whEEEEEERREEEEEE!" Cana screamed as they both took off into the air in a quick blast of air. She held on tight to the blonde as he flew them over the town in a slow arc over the top. Soon, shock turned into amazement as she took in the sight of Magnolia Town from high above. The hundreds of light of the people below them were like stars embedded into the earth. "Oh my god, it's beautiful."

"Yeah, it is." Naruto looked downwards with Cana, looking at the well lit town he fell into two weeks ago. "I had never seen anything like it in all my life before I arrived."

"Never? Where did you live before? Under a rock?"

Naruto just chuckled and smiled. "More like under a leaf."

Cana looked at the blonde's face with confusion before smiling as well. "Let me guess, another inside joke?"

"Yeah, maybe I'll tell you someday. Just like maybe someday, you'll tell me why you were in that alley." Naruto mused as they hovered above the town, covered in a crimson glow around their bodies.

"Well, I understand if you're not ready. But I am. My father is this great mage and I came to Fairy Tail when I was a little girl so I can meet him. But every time I had a chance to tell him he's my dad, I chickened out. So I told myself, once I became a S rank mage; I'd tell him." Cana sighed. "I keep failing the test. Last week was number seven for me. It's different every year and I keep messing it up. So...I still haven't told him that I'm his daughter."

Silence once again was making itself known as the two hovered in mid air along with the clouds and stars. Then Naruto broke the silence and smiled at the brunette.

"It's not my place to tell you what to do and what I think about your decision to do what you do. We make our personal decisions out of our desires and that's what makes us who we are. My greatest desire...is to see my home again. I don't know if I'll ever achieve my desire. But I do know that I'm here now and I see what my teacher had been trying to tell me all along. It's a little more complicated than what I said, but maybe I should try to make this place...my new home."

Naruto closed his eyes as he lowered both of them slowly back to the town and landed softly on top of a roof. He chuckled softly.

"A few days ago, that would have been a rough landi..." Naruto's statement was broken by a soft pair of lips kissing him lightly on his own. He was shocked at first, but then let it happen as his eyes closed and Cana placed her hands on his whiskered cheeks.

A few seconds passed by before she broke the soft kiss and smiled at the lost blonde, her hands slowly stroking his cheeks.

"Wha...What was that?"

"Take it any way you want. Just know that for me...well, that was my first kiss and I promised myself I would make it a beautiful moment." Cana looked down at the streets from their high spot on the roof before looking back at Naruto. "And I can't imagine a more beautiful moment than this."

"Well, I can't say it was my first, but I don't think kissing a boy by accident counts. But I'm glad I could give you that moment tonight. You gave me something tonight too."

Cana chose not to make a joke about his first kiss being a boy and focused on that last statement. "What?"

Naruto grinned as he pulled away from Cana and slowly walked backwards to the ledge. He ran a hand through his long, blonde hair, turning around looking up at the sky before turning back to the beautiful brunette. He whispered a quick line before taking off in a display of red light and flew back towards the noodle shop.

For some reason, Cana couldn't help but smile and feel a warm happiness in her chest about his statement.

"I'm joining Fairy Tail."


	6. I'm just trying to join Fairy Tail

_**Naked and Falling **_

_AN: Good, only one question this time. Sorry, no harem. But I haven't decided on the pairing yet so feel free to put in your two cents._

* * *

**Chapter Six: I'm just trying to join Fairy Tail.**

* * *

"So, let me get this straight. I've been trying to convince you for two weeks straight to join Fairy Tail with every trick I have in my bag and all it took was a fun ride with some drunk hussy?" Miss Maggie scoffed, placing her hands on her frail hips.

"Baa-san, she's not just some drunk hussy and no, it wasn't because of her. Well, she added to my reason along with Mirajane and yourself. While I still believe I will find a way home, you're right about me keeping everyone at arms length. If there is a chance to be a part of something, I should take it." Naruto replied, looking through his dresser for a shirt to wear.

"You were the main reason I decided to finally join. Having coffee with Mirajane everyday let me see how kind people could be here. Erza Scarlet showed me that there's conflict here as well. Cana made me realize that holding yourself back because of desires and dreams might not be such a good thing after all. But you showed me what it's like to have...well, to have a parent to take care of me."

Naruto pulled a white muscle shirt over his head before turning around and made his way to a misty eyed Maggie. "You showed me what it's like to have a mom. If you say Fairy Tail is like being part of a family, I trust you with my life."

"Boy..." Maggie tried to get out a clever insult, but couldn't help but get emotional about the blonde's statement. "Just...go and talk that old bastard, Makarov and I'm sure he'll let you join."

"Makarov? He's the master, right? Mirajane's mentioned him once or twice."

"Oh yes, a short, old bastard who just so happens to be a member of the Ten Wizard Saints as well." she replied as they made their way downstairs to the noodle shop. "Not many are on his level in terms of magic and skill. But he's kind hearted and cares for all the members of Fairy Tail as if they were his own children."

"Ten Wizard Saints?" the blonde questioned.

"Oh, I never mentioned them, have I? The Ten Wizard Saints are known to be the best mages in all of Fiore."

"So they're the strongest?" Naruto asked before getting whacked on the head with her paper fan.

"I didn't say that! While some of them are mages with great physical power, others have magic unlike anyone has every seen. Some who simply became their magic and evolved beyond being human. There are many definitions of power, boy and it's how you use it that defines _you_." Miss Maggie spoke in a wise tone as she brushed off some imaginary dirt off her student's jeans.

"Now, a little piece of advice. I wouldn't mention about you being from another world unless you really trust that person. I put a mind block on you, just in case you run into a mage or two with** Telepathy**. But you're getting so strong now, I doubt you need it to resist that sort of magic. I wouldn't mention myself either. Don't ask, just consider it a favor to me. I don't get along with that old coot, never did."

"Don't worry, It's not like I'm gonna go around and shout I'm a ninja from another world. I wasn't planning on say anything about it." Naruto replied as he grabbed his small knife pack and strapped it behind him on his belt. "I should be back in time for the dinner rush."

Maggie cackled at the blonde's naivety before grabbing her broom and swept behind him. "Oh, I highly doubt that. That guild tends to get a bit in the party mood when accepting a new member. Don't worry about me, just have fun and make it back safely. Now, shoo!"

"Hey, knowing my luck. I'll be the first person_ not_ to be accepted into the guild." Naruto laughed out loud as he slipped into** Mage mode **with ease. He discovered that he no longer needed to stand still to enter the powerful form. Naruto figured that he could have done it at anytime since arriving in this world, that absorbing magic was nowhere near as dangerous as absorbing chakra.

But as far as habits went, he did it anyways, not knowing he no longer had that restriction until recently. But it also came with a downside he figured out during some training. His strength, defense and speed were not fast as they were in Sage mode. In fact, the difference was night and day in terms of physical power. But it was like Maggie said, power isn't always strength and he was discovering new things about his new **Mage mode** everyday. Plus, he did have his unnatural physical abilities anyways that most mages didn't even have.

He was a ninja, after all.

Miss Maggie watched as his eyes burned a brighter blue with a hint of red shining in the ocean color. She watched in mild interest as a streak appeared underneath his eyes out of nowhere, having seen the action done a few times already. "Now, now. Don't be all negative. Just show up and talk to Makarov, plus he might be able to discern some ideas about your magic better I could. Have fun now."

Naruto nodded at his teacher before rushing down and giving her a big hug. She tried to pretend that she hated it and fought back, but couldn't help hugging her surrogate son back tightly. They let each other go after a few moments as Naruto slowly walked backwards and waved goodbye. He looked up at the blue sky before bending his knees and shot up into the air in a streak of crimson that left. A red arc could be seen in the sky by anyone in Magnolia Town as Naruto flew over the town towards Fairy tail.

Maggie chuckled as she turned back around and shuffled herself back into her cafe. He would be accepted easily into the guild and would have no problem getting along with the other mages. The elderly woman suddenly froze in place as a realization just hit her about what she just thought of. He would get along with everyone there except for maybe one who wouldn't be exactly happy to see him...

"Oh boy, he better hope that crazy redhead is on a mission."

* * *

"So, you're sure this information is good, Krov?"

"Yeah, yeah. Of course it is, Natsu. I got a tip that Salamander was seen in Hargeon Town. Tip's good far as my end goes, so here I am telling you." Krov reassured the dragon slayer as he took another swig of his beer. The buck tooth man left the table to get another drink as Natsu danced in glee with his partner.

"You hear that, Happy? We might see Igneel!" Natsu exclaimed excitedly as Happy tried to be positive for his friend.

"Aye, but he did say_ 'Salamander'._ So we should be a little cautious, Natsu." The flying cat pointed out, adjusting his green sack around his neck. "So, are we going soon?"

"Hell yes! Mirajane! We're going to take off now! Where's Master at?" Natsu shouted at the beautiful barmaid who looked to her left and right and shrugged her shoulders.

"He was here a moment ago. Oh well. Have a safe journey, I'll tell him you left." Mirajane smiled at the excited dragon slayer before going back to wiping the bar down. She was thinking about a certain blonde before Natsu shouted her name as a blush appeared on her face. She was wondering when she'll see him again when a certain card mage interrupted her thoughts.

"Hey, Mira. What are you thinking about? Maybe a boy, eh?" Cana asked in a teasing voice, pointing out the blush on the girl's cheeks.

"No! No...well, maybe. I have been getting coffee with this one guy. Definitely not a boy." Mirajane giggled into her hand.

"Well, well. Is that what they call it these days? Getting coffee? I like to call it riding the..."

"Cana! We're in public, plus Elfman is just right there! And it's not like that, we're just friends. I sort of like him, but I don't think he feels the same way. He's only been in town for two weeks and I think he's happy to have someone to talk to." the white haired beauty admitted as a curious tick made its way on Cana's mind.

"Actually, something similar happened to me the other night. I sort of...met a guy too." Cana couldn't help but giggle herself, a trait that she didn't usually show to others. Mirajane looked surprise, seeing how she never seen Cana get so girly over a boy before. Sure, she'd seen the card user flirt many times before, but no guy had ever made Cana act like a real girl before.

"When did this happen?"

"After the last S rank trials. I sort of got a little drunk and wandered behind this sh..." Cana started to describe the night when a loud shout could be heard from outside and interrupted the girl talk between them.

"OUCH! What the hell! Where did you come from?! Ow, my ass hurts!" Natsu's familiar voice came from outside the doors of the guild as the two girls wandered outside with the rest of the curious guild.

"I'm so sorry. I thought I had this landing thing down. I didn't mean to land so close to the gates. Are you alright?" Another familiar voice rang in both Cana and Mirajane's ear as they led the group of curious mages and saw a blonde holding his hand out to a fallen Natsu.

"Naruto?" Both girls said at the same time and just as quick, looked at each other in surprise.

"Wait, you know him?" Their voices spoke in unison before pointing at the blonde hero and continued to talk together. "Yes, that's the guy I was talking about."

"Oh, hey guys. What's going on?" Naruto smiled at the girls, unaware of the problem that stewed underneath the surface. But before the girls could say anything, Natsu smacked Naruto's hand away and jumped back up.

"Hey, remember me? How the hell did you do that? Where did you jump from?" he shouted at Naruto as Happy tried to calm his friend down.

"I didn't jump. I flew here because I wanted to join Fairy Tail." Naruto answered honestly, but the dragon slayer didn't believe him.

"Impossible! Where are your wings? Did you use **Wind** magic? Or **Aera** magic like my partner? Happy! Can he fly? Do people that fly belong to a club? Why didn't you tell me you belong to a club?" Natsu started to babble as the lost ninja cocked his head and looked to the blue cat floating in the air.

"Is he for real?" Naruto pointed to the fire eater as Happy nodded sadly.

"Aye. But you get used to it."

"Hey, don't talk about me like I'm not even here! Come on, blondie. You and me right now! If you want to join, you got to beat the strongest mage here and that's me!" Natsu claimed as the entire guild sweat dropped at Natsu's false statement.

"Says who, AssHat?" The ice mage known as Gray shouted from the crowd, clad in only his boxers.

"Shut up, Stripperella! This is between me and the guy stealing my hair style!"

Meanwhile, back with Cana and Mirajane...

"So the guy you been having coffee with is the same guy that I kissed the other night?" Cana exclaimed as one of Mirajane's eyes twitched slightly.

"Kissed? You...kissed...him?" she gritted her teeth before bringing a false smile on her face. "Well, that's okay. It's not like I've been dating him or anything."

"Well, neither am I. It was a one time thing. He only fed me and then we flew over the city in a romantic trip through the sky before sharing a soft kiss on a roof top." Cana taunted in a light voice with half lidded eyes as Mirajane's twitch became more...twitchy.

"Really? That's...so sweet. But since you're not dating him, I guess that means you were just a one night fling. It's not like Naruto and I, that we meet for coffee everyday and talk and laugh and share personal thoughts." the Take Over magic user retorted with a dark shadow covering the top part of her face as Cana stiffened and the sound of glass breaking could be heard behind her.

They were about to argue again when Natsu started to shout once more at the blonde, much to the entire guild's amusement as random people started to bring out chairs and beers to enjoy the two shows.

Naruto, being in the middle of both fights started to get a little nervous. This wasn't how he expected the day to go when he decided to join Fairy Tail. He looked to the only sane person there and it was a flying, blue cat. Unfortunately, the said cat was busy stalking a fish vendor that just so happened to be walking by with his cart.

"Why me?" Naruto muttered to himself as he started to regret his decision to join a family. Especially one as crazy as this one. So far, he had been here for 30 seconds and he already had someone challenging him to a fight while two girls are fighting to see who he liked better. The only thing that could make things worse was...

"NARUTO!"

...

...

...

"Oh...crap." Naruto flinched as he heard that familiar voice coming from the guild's building. The crowd parted in the middle, revealing an angry redhead staring straight at him.

"YOU! Finally, I will have my revenge!" Erza shouted as she requipped a familiar friend in her hands. "Someone wants to say hello!"

"No, not Mr. Smashy!" Naruto squeaked in a high voice as Natsu looked back and forth between the blonde and redhead.

"You know this guy, Erza?" Natsu pointed his thumb back at a frightened Naruto.

"Yes! He was the one who fell on me when I was in the onsen and rubbed his face in my breasts!" Erza exclaimed loudly, then instantly regretted her words as a deep shade of red appeared on her face.

"Lucky bastard." A mage named Wakaba Mine spoke out of the crowd with many guys nodding at his statement while the females scoffed.

"Soon to be a dead bastard." Jet spoke up as his partner Droy agreed to the prediction. Levy could only cover her eyes, afraid of the fighting that was about to happen soon.

But unlike the others, both Mirajane's and Cana's face fell with slack jaws at Erza's confession. Now all three female mages looked towards Naruto who was still in shocked at everything that transpired in now...one minute.

"Listen, I just wanted to join Fairy Tail. Erza, it was an accident. Natus, is it? I'm sorry, it was an accident with you too. Mirajane, we have coffee and I enjoy it every day and Cana..." Naruto smiled sheepishly.

"I'm still not looking at your boobs."

Cana blushed and smiled, knowing that their personal joke was a way of saying he didn't mean for all this too happen. Mirajane relaxed a little as well, seeing how much everything had gotten out of control and needed to help calm things down. Erza, being the responsible S rank mage she is, decided that it was best not attack the blonde right now and demand payment for the damages to the onsen until things were better under control.

But...they forgot about a little hot head named Natsu who thought it was better to attack now and forgive later.

**"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"** Natsu shouted as he rushed at Naruto and cocked his arm back with flames encompassing his fist. Almost instantly, the scared, shaky blonde that was in front of him disappeared and was replaced by a calm looking man. He closed his eyes as Natsu closed the gap between them in a matter of seconds.

"Take this!" Natsu swung his fist at Naruto, but at the last second, his wrist was grabbed and the attack hit the ground next to the blonde. Natsu looked shocked at his attack hitting the hard pavement as bits of rock and dirt flew up at the duo.

"How?" He managed to say through the small cloud of dust as he looked up at the blonde, but all he could see was a pair of blue eyes shining through the dust.

"Strike one."

Natsu suddenly found himself swung around like a flail and thrown back to where he started in the first place. He managed to land on his feet and used his hands to hold himself to the spot as he skidded backwards on the street. The dragon slayer was still in shock, along with everyone else from Fairy Tail as they watched the mysterious blonde stop the attack by simply redirecting Natsu's fist with his hand.

The dust finally settled as Naruto was still standing in the same spot, only now with a large hole next to him where he deflected the fire attack.

"What kind of magic was that?" Natsu shouted at the blonde. "How did you stop my attack?"

"No magic. Just me." Naruto grinned and held a hand up before signalling him to come at him again. "Ready for strike two?"

Natsu couldn't help but give his own grin as he got ready to attack again, only a little more smarter this time. "Oh, it won't be a strike."

He ignited his feet on fire, increasing his speed as he charged at the blonde in a fire induced rush. Then just as quick, he launched himself into the air and flipped down with a powerful, flame covered kick aimed at Naruto's head.** "Fire Dragon's Claw!"**

Much to the dragon slayer's shock, Naruto didn't move as he held a hand up and caught the fire powered kick with his bare palm. Flames went everywhere around the blonde in a brilliant display of **Fire** magic as he focused his strength into his hand before pushing the attack back towards Natsu. Everyone's jaw dropped, including Erza as they watched Naruto sent their own dragon slayer back flying to his spot again where he started in the first place.

"Strike two."

"He didn't use any magic at all! What a man!" Elfman exclaimed as many of the others agreed with the first part of the statement.

"It has to be a trick. He's not even burned." Gray pointed out, but a voice spoke up for the first time from behind the group.

"No, he isn't using any magic. I would have sensed it." Everyone turned to see their master walking out of the building with a smile on his face. He wore an orange hat and matching shirt as he made his way next to Mirajane, Cana, and Erza before stopping to watch the battle between one of his children and the blonde boy who wanted to join.

"So, who's the young man that is making short work of Natsu here?"

"Master! He's Naruto. He came to join us, but things sort of got out of control here with Natsu and Erza." Mirajane confessed as Erza looked shock at the accusation.

"I did no such thing. I put away my weapon, but Natsu attacked him out of nowhere. Something about him getting knocked down by Naruto's landing." Erza explained to her master. "Mirajane and Cana here seemed to make things worse by fighting about who liked who first!"

"Hey, I'm not the one who was rubbing my boobs in his face!" Cana pointed out as Erza gasped.

"You kissed him!" Mirajane yelled at the card mage.

"Yeah, so? Erza wanted to bash his head in with a mace!"

"He left me to pay for the damages!"

"I was just having coffee with the guy! I have no problem at all with you kissing him or Erza giving him some fun 'South of the Mouth'!"

"Pounding the pillows."

"Doing the twins."

"Booby bang."

"HOLY CRAP! Cana! Mirajane! Seriously?" Naruto shouted over Natsu and at the two arguing over names for a paizuri. "Nothing didn't happened there! Holy crap, I'm just trying to join Fairy Tail!"

"I'm just trying to join Fairy Tail." Naruto repeated with a sigh. He looked up at Natsu who seemed antsy as he sighed once again. "Just come at me and finish this."

"HELL YEAH!" Natsu shouted as he jumped at the blonde with flame covered fists. He launched a barrage of punches at Naruto, but none landed as he dodged every one of them. Natsu threw a left hook, expecting to catch the blonde off guard, but he leaned back as the fist of fire missed his face by inches. The dragon slayer was getting furious as none of his attacks weren't landing and decided to step it up a notch.

"There will be no strike three, fly boy!" He shouted as he jumped back and slammed his fist together. Mirajane, Erza, and Cana's eyes widened along with everyone else in the guild as they realized what spell Natsu decided to use against the blonde.

"Natsu, don't!" Gray shouted, ready to stop his rival, but a large arm stopped him and looked down at the source of the limb. "Master?"

"It's fine. Trust me." Makarov spoke wisely at he watched the pink haired mage charge up with a large orange-red seal. Cana and Mirajane wanted to stop him, but if the master said it was okay... it was. They trusted him like a daughter would trust their father, just as much as Erza trusted him.

Natsu's chest expanded as his cheeks puffed out with his hands over his mouth before launching his signature attack at the blonde.** "Fire Dragon's Roar!"**

Only...the attack never reached Naruto.

In a blink of an eye, Naruto was underneath Natsu and slammed his foot down on the mage's foot before delivering a palm strike under his chin. The large stream of fire shot into the sky harmlessly as everyone gasped at Naruto's speed and quick thinking. The attack finished itself off as Natsu's head came back down and saw Naruto looking up at him with a smile.

"Strike three. My turn."

For the first time in a long while, Natsu was a little afraid as he tried to back away from the blonde. But he realize he couldn't move because Naruto still had his foot on his foot.

"Oh, crap."

Suddenly, he was a boxing bag as Naruto unleashed a fury of light punches all over his body and face. His arms, torso, and head flailed about as the impacts of Naruto's fists caused Natsu's body to thrash around like a doll. Just as quick, the blonde stopped his attack and released Natsu's foot before delivering a hard headbutt into the dragon slayer's forehead. The impact threw him back and once again, Natsu landed in the spot unconscious where he started the fight in the first place.

Silence hung in the air as everyone watched Naruto defeat Natsu without any magic, just hand to hand combat as he brushed his hands off and walked toward their master. Naruto smiled as he leaned down and stretched his hand out to the small master.

"Hello, Mr. Makarov. I'm Naruto. I would like to join Fairy Tail if I can."

Makarov simply smiled at the young man as he reached up and shook his hand. "Well, If I heard right. I do believe Natsu said that if you beat him, you can join and my dear boy...you did beat him."

"I went easy on him, don't worry. It wouldn't make a good impression if I hurt him too badly."

The same thought went through everyone's head. _'He went easy on him?'_

"Oh, I knew you wouldn't. But you did seem to cause quite of bit of trouble here with a few of our members" the old master mused playfully as the three female mages turned a deep red from embarrassment.

"Yeah, I seem to cause trouble every time I fly and land apparently." Naruto rubbed the back of his head.

"So it seems." Makarov laughed loudly. "So, shall we head inside and get you your mark? Then we shall celebrate all night in honor of our newest member of our family!"

Everyone shouted in glee as they always loved a good party and quickly raised the blonde off his feet before running into the guild building. Makarov watched as Cana, Erza, and Mirajane followed quietly, still embarrassed from their previous outbursts. Makarov merely chuckled as he took a minute to look up at the sky where he watched Naruto fly in from the window of his bedroom.

"So, Maggie. Let's see if you found the hero we've searched for all this time." The old Wizard Saint wondered to himself as he turned away and walked into his guild building. Then, for some reason he felt like he forgot something before shaking his head and went inside.

A few seconds later, Happy came flying back with a giant fish in his arms and a huge smile on his face. Only to find everyone gone and an unconscious, beaten Natsu on the ground with his butt sticking up in the air.

"Huh? Did I miss something?"


	7. Partners in crime

_**Naked and Falling **_

_AN: Question time #1. Sorry, once again. No harems. #2. Again, theme song of this story is "Letting the cables sleep' by Bush. #3. The secret that is Miss Maggie will be revealed in a future chapter. Sorry. Now please, no more repeat questions. But I will still take questions in my PM box. Enjoy the next chapter._

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Partners in crime.**

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"Oh...my head. It feels like a hammer broke right into my skull." Naruto mumbled softly as he trying to turn in bed. Only, it didn't feel like his bed and he couldn't turn over onto his side.

"Wha...?" The blonde hero opened his eyes slowly, the light burning them as soon as he cracked open an eyelid. "Where am I?"

A rather large ceiling came into a blurry view as Naruto tried to raise a hand to his face to rub his eyes. Except, that he couldn't move his arm...or the other one. His eyes were wide open now as he lifted his head off what he found to be a hard floor and took a good look around his current sleeping area. A goofy grin slapped across his face as the memories of last night came to him. The lost ninja was accepted into the guild with open arms and a huge party was thrown to celebrate his entrance to Fairy Tail.

Only, it was unlike any party he had ever been to in his life. Brawls started between random mages every five minutes, drinking contests were initiated constantly through out the night, and food was eaten and thrown all over the place. He remembered Natsu sulking in the corner until Gray challenged him to a fight and they went at it with smiles on their faces. Until Erza got in between them and scolded the two mages like an older sister would to her younger brothers. Naruto was grateful for those two since they had distracted the redhead for most of the night.

The group known as Shadow Gear welcomed him with big smiles as well. Actually, only the small blue haired girl did while the other two had apparent jealous looks on their faces. The girl know as Levy welcomed him further by waving her hands as a multi colored word appeared out of nowhere above her. It spelled out 'Welcome' as it blew up into fireworks. It had amazed him and she explained it was her magic called** Solid Script** and the words she made were whatever she wrote them out to be. Giving another example, she spelled out 'Fire' and a blue flame shot out at Natsu before the dragon slayer ate it out in full gusto.

From there, following Levy's example, other mages welcomed him personally and some showed him their own magic spells as well.** Smoke** magic, **Take Over** magic, **Fire** magic, **Ice** magic. There were so many different kinds that he was overwhelmed by the attention and displays of power. Next thing that Naruto knew, Cana came over with two barrels of beer and had him drinking the whole night. He vaguely remember certain moments after that. Dancing with a guy named Vi...something, having an arm wrestling match with this huge guy in orange shorts, and something about him stripping with Gray and giving Mirajane a lap dance before Cana pushed her off and sat in the chair with jewels in her hands.

"Oh, that would explain this." Naruto looked down at his bare chest to see Mirajane sleeping in one arm and Cana sleeping in the other. He shook his head and decided that it would be best that they didn't wake up like this and start fighting all over again. He still didn't understand how it happened. He was having a pleasant coffee break with Mirajane every day like what friends did and with Cana. Well, that was a little on the romantic side, but nothing else had happened between them besides the impromptu kiss.

Somehow, that caused the two friends to go at each other other for his affection. Naruto didn't even know they felt that way! Carefully, he slipped both arms out from under the girls and placed their heads down on the floor softly. He smiled at the two as he stood up with a twinge of pain in his lower back. He stretched his back and popped his neck before taking another look around at the mess of bodies spread around the guild. His eyes widened at the sight of a guy with a broom handle up his ass and shivered at the thought.

The broom however, reminded him of his boss that was most likely expecting him to show up to work for the lunch rush. His hands lightly patted his bare abs and wondered what had happened to his shirt. At least he still had his jeans on so all he needed was his shirt and he could leave for the time being. Naruto's eyes looked around piles of sleeping mages, but he couldn't find his muscle shirt anywhere.

He sighed as he rubbed his unkempt hair before grabbing a handful and tied most of it in a loose ponytail with a rubber band. It looked like he had to fly home without a shirt. He carefully stepped over the passed out wizards as he made his way to the door way and right about the time he reached the door, a hand tugged on his wrist. He looked down to see Master Makarov smiling up at him and nodded towards the outside. The blonde nodded back as they both quietly walked outside the doors before closing them without a sound.

"So, my boy. You enjoyed your welcoming party?" Makarov asked as they slowly walked towards the gates of Fairy Tail.

"More than anything I had enjoyed in a long time. I never really had a family to celebrate like that before." Naruto confessed as the master nodded in understanding.

"Hmm, that's something I understand all too well. Many of the mages here have no families and most have a past they rather no speak about because it's too painful for them. That's why I stress the importance of this guild being a family. We all work together, eat and drink together, play together, and unfortunately at times, mourn together." Makarov explained to the blonde. They stopped at the gates before the old master turned to Naruto and looked up with a serious look in his eyes.

"I let you join because I see you have much pain in your heart. But I also see love, kindness, and a warmth that one rarely sees in a warrior such as yourself."

Naruto's eyes slightly widened at the shorter man's statement. "How did you..."

"I've been around for a long time, son. I can tell when a man has seen war and tragedy in his life. But you've seen more in your short life than I have ever seen in an older man with a lifetime of experience." Makarov confessed before looking away politely. "I will never ask you questions about your past or your magic because I respect privacy among everything us. A man's past is his own and so is his power. All I ask in return is the same courtesy to the rest of your nakama, understand?"

"Yes, I do. Thank you, sir. I never really had someone put so much faith into me like this before. At least, not without jokes." Naruto smiled. "All I ask for myself is that I work at a cafe in town so I might not be around all the time."

"It's no problem. It's not necessary to be around all the time to take missions. The guild is a place to simply have a place to go to where you have nowhere else to go. Speaking of which, I do have a favor to ask of you. I know you were planning to go to work today, but this is important to me"

"Sure. What is it that you need?" Naruto asked as Makarov sweat dropped a little at what he was about to ask of the blonde.

"Well, lately, a certain mage of ours has been stressed out this past week and had been taking more risks than she normally would on missions. I'm a little concerned. I would like for you to go with her on a mission that she plans to take today."

"Me? What can I do? I'm not a thera...wait, did you say she?" Naruto stated deadpanned. "She who?"

"Master, I'm here as you request. You wanted to talk about my mission today." A voice spoke out from outside the gates as Naruto and Makarov turn their heads to see Erza walking up the street to the gates of Fairy Tale. Her eyes quickly steeled at the sight of the blonde as her teeth gritted in anger.

"Hello..._Naruto_. How are you today?"

"Uh, I'm fine Erza-san. You look...lovely today." Naruto replied nervously.

"That's because I didn't overdo it last night like _some_ people. Stripping and drinking aren't my thing." Erza looked down at his bare chest and tussled hair before quickly averting her eyes away to avoid the slight pink tone from being seen on her cheeks. "Couldn't find your shirt? It's because Natsu burned it up after you gave Cana and Mirajane a lap dance. Something about it being payback."

Naruto gasped as his hands quickly shot up to cover his nipples, missing the tiny blush on Erza's face. But Makarov couldn't help but grin at his idea growing better by the second.

"Well, Naruto. Here's the mage I was speaking about and Erza, this is what I wanted to talk to you about." a huge smile grew on the old master's face and he pointed to the both of them. "You will be partners on this mission."

...

...

...

"WHAT?!"

* * *

"I can't believe Master's making me take you along so you can get some mission experience. This is a A ranked mission!" Erza grumbled as they waited for the train at the Magnolia Town's Train Station. "He should have thrown you with Natsu or something. An easy mission like retrieving papers, not slaying a massive monster!"

Naruto just kept his mouth shut, knowing the real reason that Makarov sent him on the mission with Erza. "If you're upset about the money, you can keep both halves. I'm not really into having tons of jewels on me. I do just fine at the noodle shop."

"Damn right you'll give me your half! I had to pay for the damages at the onsen!"

"Again, I'm sorry, but you did do the damage. I just fell on you and I explained that I was just learning how to fly." Naruto explained once more, but Erza just scoffed and ignored the blonde's apology.

"So you say. You seemed to be pretty under control when you fought with Natsu and your apparent_ 'flying over the town'_ date with Cana." the redhead spat out with venom in her voice. "By the way, what is your magic anyways? Not that I care, but it might be necessary for this mission. Know what? Never mind. I'm not going to let a rookie get involved with this mission. You are purely an observer in this job."

"Wow. You're more of a hard ass than what people say." The words slipped out of Naruto's mouth before he could stop himself. He had to dodge a metal covered fist as Erza reacted to his bold statement.

"Holy crap, woman! Seriously! I heard you were the responsible, level headed, role model in Fairy Tail, but damn!" Naruto backed away a few feet and held his arms up. "Do you solve everything with violence?"

"No...well, most of the time." the armor clad woman had to admit. "Because an iron fist is all people understand in this day and age."

"Is that why you're always wearing armor?" Naruto knew he hit a soft spot as Erza immediately stopped talking to him and waited for the train to come. Naruto sighed as he slowly walked back next to the weapon mage and waited in silence along with her until their ride came and took them away to their misson.

_'This is a great start.'_

Thirty minutes later, they were heading towards their destination as the silence continued linger between the two mages. They sat in their private cabin seats as Naruto watched the scenery pass by and it hit him that this was the first time he left Magnolia Town since he arrived in this world. He adjusted the collar of the maroon dress shirt he had to buy on the way to the train station because Erza wouldn't let him go home to pick up a muscle shirt. Naruto just buttoned it up halfway and let the end hang out, not bothering to tuck the tail in his jeans.

He sighed as he turned his attention back to Erza who was sitting quietly with her eyes closed. Even though he still thought that Erza was impatient and overly stricted in a sense, he could see so many tells of a bad childhood and how it affected her emotionally. After all, it took one to know one. Maybe that could be their connection to understanding each other better, but he remember what Makarov said about respect each other's privacy and knew there was no way to approach the topic safely.

So, he decided to go another way and brought up a topic that was mentioned earlier.

"So, I'm still trying to figure out my magic. It's a bit confusing to say the least." Naruto tried to break the ice, but Erza wanted nothing to do with it as she remained silent in her seat.

Naruto continued to wear her down as he kept up the one way conversation. "I mean, I can fly and recently found out I can make a empty ball out of some kind of magic, but I have no idea how the two are related. It's some type of red energy that's sort of like **Light** magic, but with different kinds of properties. Almost like saying,_ 'I got fire that burns me cold or water that makes me dry'_. It's very mind boggling."

Erza sighed, her curiosity finally overtaking her as she opened her eyes and looked at the big grin on the blonde's face. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's very bright, but feels like something that grows dense like a shadow. It's hard to explain."

"Well, Master Makarov is an expert at discerning types of magic power. Maybe he could help you." Erza offered the advice politely.

"Actually, so am I. I also have another trick that allows me to see the **Eternano** in the air as it forms into magic for each person. It's like streams of colors floating in the air, it's quite a sight. Strings of magic over around us, kind of like _watching_ music if you understand what I'm saying." Naruto tried to explain what he feels and sees when he's in **Mage** mode.

Erza couldn't help but get entranced at the blonde's description of the **Eternano** that surrounds everything in this world and wondered what kind of magic that would allow him to see that. "How do you see **Eternano**? I know that sometimes raw magic can be seen, but after it's been absorbed by a person and focused."

"Well, my technique sort of allows me to become part of nature in a sense. Like _borrowing_ someone's eyes, only this case, Mother Nature's eyes. It used be to that it allowed me to sense someone's location and their level of power while giving me a massive increase in strength and speed. But now, it's sort of changed into just the former, losing the physical part while giving me a new ability to see magic on different levels."

"How so?"

"I'm still discovering how it works, but I think I'm able to tell what kind of magic someone's able to use by watching their_ 'color stream'_ when they are about to attack. It happened to me a few nights ago. So far, that's about it along with what I already told you." Naruto surprised himself on how much he was telling Erza when only a day ago, she was trying to bash his head in...again.

"That's...quite interesting. Could I possibly see how you do it?" Erza forced herself to ask her new rival, curiosity overcoming her desire to beat the blonde silly.

"Okay." Naruto had no problem showing the redhead, just happy she's not trying to kill him anymore. Without a hitch, he slipped into **Mage** mode as he felt himself becoming one with the magic dancing in the air. Erza let out a small gasp of amazement as Naruto's eyes grew more bright and a line of red appeared below each eye.

"Oh, so it's **Eye** magic. That's what you are using, a type of **Eye** magic."

_'Ah, Magic lesson number twenty. **Eye** magic. I wonder why Miss Maggie never said anything. But then again, I tuned out most of it.'_ Naruto mused.

"I guess then all I need is a name for it." Naruto chuckled. "And figure out my other magic."

"Well, show me again. It just seems to me that you just have no idea about what magic is, so show me that spell you were talking about." Erza smirked, proud of herself that she managed to do something her master can do as well.

Naruto nodded again as he held his palms out and focus as a transparent, red sphere appearing in the middle of his hands about the size of a baseball. "So far, all it's done is hold things inside and protect them like a barrier. I feel like it can do more, but I haven't tried to do much to be honest."

Erza tried to rack her brain on what he was doing and the type it was, but she was at a lost for words as she now understood what he was talking about.

"Have you tried to see your own magic with your **Eye** magic?"

...

...

...

"Uh, no actually. I've just used it to find and turn on my magic." Naruto said sheepishly as he shrugged. Erza face palmed at the blonde's lack of common sense and wonder just about how much of his teacher's lessons he's ignored.

"Well, turn them back on and look at your little ball. What does it tell you?" the redhead pointed out in a cocky manner.

Naruto slipped back into his **Mage** mode or rather, **Mage** eyes as he looked down at his hands and let his eyes do the work. Instinctively, his mind told him that it was a type of advanced **Telekinesis** that allowed him to manipulate and condense magic at the sub atomic level. He also discerned that it could be altered to be used in different ways which explained how he was able to fly and create small spheres. It was basically up to him how he could shape and mold his magic. That's why it seemed like **Light** magic and **Molding** magic at the same time. One dealt with powerful energy while the other form magic into whatever the mage was taught to mold.

Naruto basically repeated what his mind discerned about the magic to Erza as she nodded at his explanation, impressed at what his eyes could do. She also wondered what the combination of the two could possibly do together, combining the various effects of his magics.

"That actually makes sense in a way. Magic like **Pyrokinesis** and **Molding** magic are based on the same principles of them being an advanced form of **Telekinesis**. But I had never seen anything like yours before. I believe it's the first and only one of its kind. So, all you need to do now is figure out what it's capable of and its limits." Erza explained Naruto's discovery back to him as the train continued to its location and their mission.

For once, Naruto actually paid attention to what he was being taught as Erza explained to him the fundamentals that Miss Maggie had been trying to rammed into his brain for the last two weeks. The difference was now he was an official mage by law and needed to learn how to use his magic for the best of him and his new nakama's safety. Plus, it didn't hurt that Erza seemed to love teaching the blonde about magic and made her for the moment, forget how much she hated him.

Next thing he knew, it had been two hours and they had arrived at destination of their mission request. Erza had just finished her lesson about Requip as Naruto listened intensely much to her surprise. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all. They had gotten out of their cabin and walked off the train as Erza pulled out the mission request and read the name of the requester.

"Says here that we need to see the mayor and according to this map on the wall, it's clear across town. Let's see if we can rent a magic buggy to drive and..."

"That'll take too long. Let's just fly over there." Naruto stated before the red haired sword mage shook her head frantically.

"Oh no, I'm not one of your harem girls that you're trying to impress with a flight up in the sky." Erza retorted, shooting down his idea quickly. "Not to mention that it's probably another chance for you to touch me."

"You're wearing armor! Also, I don't have a harem! I didn't even know Cana and Mira had those kinds of feelings for me and how many times to I have to say that it was an accident?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Right, right. Let's just find a rental place." Erza walked off as Naruto fumed and just had about enough of Erza's attitude, In the blink of an eye, he was behind the redhead as he wrapped his arms around her waist and activated his **Mage** eyes.

"Sorry, I'm impatient too." Naruto stated as he formed the crimson magic around them and shot off into the air like a red rocket.

"NARUTO!"


	8. Team Awesome

_**Naked and Falling **_

_AN: Sorry for being a few days late. I was sick as a dog. I hope this long chapter will make up for it. No questions to be answered at this time, sweet. Let's get it on like Donkey Kong._

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**Chapter Eight: Team Awesome.**

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...

...

...

"So, you still mad at me?"

"What ever makes you think I'm mad at you, Naruto?"

"Well, for one, you haven't spoken to me since we left the mayor's office. Then, there's this." Naruto held up his bound hands that were wrapped from wrist to elbow in thick, tight rope that led to the redhead's hand. Erza smirked evilly to herself before turning to Naruto with an dark gleam in her eyes.

"Oh, that. That's nothing. If I were really mad at you, you would be also gagged and blind folded. Only to be released every five minutes to lick my boots clean."

Naruto shuddered at the thought, shaking his head clear of the image before looking at the back of Erza's head with a deadpanned stare.

"I knew you would be one of those types." He whispered to himself before Erza turned around again, but with a giant head and demonic eyes with a snake tongue coming out from her mouth.

"What type?" She snarled in a venom laced voice.

"Uh, most forgiving and wonderful! Not into S&M or Bondage at all!" Naruto smiled panickly as he waved his tied hands back and forth in front of him. "Very forgiving of you to only tie my hands up and lead me around like a puppy!"

Erza smirked as she turned back around and continued to walk down the path into the thick forest ahead. "I tied you up so you won't try and fly me up with you again. Plus, it seems to be a good way to keep you out of this hunt for the monster that attacked the work crews that are trying to clear this area."

"Okay, one, you loved it. Admit it. Two, I can handle myself. Three, why are they clearing this area? It's beautiful." Naruto wondered as he looked around at the lush, green forest that was a few miles outside the town.

"For once, I agree with you. But that's progress. The town's growing so the area is needed to build more housing and markets. Unfortunately, the expansion has been halted due to these attacks." Erza stated, looking around the clearing until they reached the work site of the town's lumber company.

"I understand progress, but it's still heartbreaking to me to see all these trees cut down." the blonde spoke nostalgically before walking up next to Erza and took a look around himself. His eyes caught the site of the ruined machinery and let out a low whistle. "That is some serious damage to those logging machines."

The sword mage nodded as they continued down the path and into the work site to get a closer look. "Let's try to find a clue about what we are dealing with here and how we can find it."

"Well, finding it shouldn't be a problem for me. As long as it's within my range, my **Mage** mode should be able to find it." Naruto pointed out before smirking playfully. "Or would I just be getting in the way?"

Erza sighed as she closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. As much as she wanted to tell him to stay out of it, his magic would save them hours, possibly days of search time. "No, go ahead. Find the monster so we can finish this job and head back already."

But much to her surprise, he shook his head.

"Eh, I don't think so."

"Why?" Erza nearly shouted, the rope tempting her to wrap it around the blonde's neck and strangle him. Who was he to say no to her?

"Because, you didn't say please."

Breaking glass could be heard as the red haired mage frozen in place, her mouth agape at his retort. But before she could say anything back or **Requip** a weapon to beat him senseless, Naruto continued to speak on the manner.

"Just say we're a team and I'll do it. You can even keep me tied up if you want. I just want you to say we're a team on this mission." the lost shinobi asked with a huge grin on his face as Erza stiffed once again. The last thing she wanted to do was admit she needed help from him of all people. She wasn't above asking for help. She actually asks for help on a regular bases from her guild members back in Fairy Tail.

But this was _Naruto_, of all people.

No, she would not have her mission record spoiled on the off chance she couldn't locate this beast. She sighed once more and looked into the blonde's grinning face with disgust. "Fine, we're...a team."

"Team Awesome."

"What?"

"Say it. Say we're Team Awesome."

"No! I'm not going to say that! What the hell for?"

"Well, Levy is part of Team Shadow Gear and so I want a name for our team. I was considering Team Ramen, but then that just made me hungry. Then I thought, Team Boomtastic. But that was silly. Team Naruto came in mind for a minute, but that was egotistic of me and so Team Awesome was born." Naruto's grin grew wider as fury and rage made steam come out of Erza's ears.

"I will never call us Team Awesome! You are a pervert who peeped on me and sweet talked your way into Fairy Tail! I will never consider you my nakama or anything of the sort! I was forced to take you along and after this, we will never work toget..." Erza began to shout in anger; but all of a sudden, Naruto jumped backwards as he tugged on the rope she was holding and pulled her along with him.

"Wha..." she tried to get out a question, but an explosion of dirt and rock came up from the spot where she was standing in a minute ago. She looked over to Naruto whose binds were already cut into pieces on the ground. His eyes shined a deeper blue and was outlined in red as he held her in his arms. He kept his sight on the spot where she stood a moment ago as the dust settled, revealing a huge pair of green fists smashed into the dirt.

Erza looked away from Naruto's eyes to see the creature who appeared from nowhere and got a good look at it. It was as big as the guild building and had huge, muscular arms that ended with sharp claws. Its feet were talons and black spots covered its dark green skin from head to toe. A large, brown mane spiked off his head with a huge horn sticking out on top. Its eyes glow a dark red as its fanged mouth opened to let out a deep growl.

"Wow, that's a big monster. Are you okay?" Naruto asked his partner before she snapped out of her daze and pulled herself of his arms.

"I'm fine, thank you for the assist, but I got it from here. Please stay out of this fight. I will slay this beast myself." Erza stated as she stepped ahead of the blonde and requipped a large, broad sword into her hands.

"Yeah, okay. But I feel that I should tell you that..."

"Enough, just stay back!" Erza shouted, rushing towards the massive beast in an impressive display of speed. The tip of her sword cut a line into the ground as she charged full power into her swing and connected the blade against the monster's arm. The sword sliced downwards in a white light, a cocky smirk growing across her lips. But her eyes widened in shock as the edge of her blade barely made a scratch against its skin before dodging another swing from the monster's claw.

"What's going on? That should have severed its arm." the redhead muttered to herself before her sword disappeared in a flash of light and was replaced a familiar friend that made Naruto flinched for a moment.

"Mr. Smashy!" he whispered loudly as he watched Erza leap up at the beast and swung the large mace down at its head. Again, her efforts were thwarted as the green monster blocked the strike with its arm. She was shocked once more at the outcome of her attack. She couldn't cut deep into its skin or smash through it. Mr. Smashy barely hurt the beast as it pushed Erza back with the same arm, causing her to back flip to catch her step on the ground.

_'What's going on? Usually I don't need nothing but a single weapon to take down a beast like this. Do I actually have to use one of my armors against this thing?'_ the redhead thought as she analyzed the situation.

"Ahem, would you like some help now?"

"Shut it." Erza growled as she used her **Requip** magic and a large, light red seal came from underneath along her body glowing in a bright light. In a flash, she requipped her** Black Wing Armor** in place of her normal armor. Naruto almost blushed at the sight of the redhead switching armors, his enhanced eyes being able to see every inch of her nude body for that brief moment in the middle of the switch. He watched as she tried to attack the beast again, slashing away with two swords this time as she zoomed through the air with her midnight wings.

**"Moon Flash!"**

But he knew it was for naught. He could see the dark green magic swirling around the monster and knew that it somehow made its skin and muscle density almost fifty times denser than normal. Erza would have to use a weapon that could exceed that much density in a way without using an insane amount of power. That weapon would have only one direct way to attack In a piercing or thrusting fashion like a spear or halberd. He assumed she would have figured that out quickly, but she hadn't yet. Naruto guessed it had something to do with his presence here.

He just manages to piss off the red haired mage like no one else, apparently.

But there was something else that bothered the blonde as he watched Erza use powerful strikes to cut into the monster's skin. Lacerations only comparable to shaving cuts due to the beast's unique magic. But that wasn't what bothered him. It was the simple fact that the beast never charged or attacked Erza until she attacked him. In fact, it never crossed that original spot where it first attacked them. It was almost as if it was doing something on purpose, as if it _had_ a purpose.

While Naruto was mulling over the little details about the beast, he failed to notice that Erza finally realized what she was doing wrong and altered her attack. In a bright light, her swords was replaced was replaced by a long, purple spear with a sharp, detailed head. In a quick motion, she managed to pierce through the green beast's bicep as it howled in pain and fury. Erza smirked as she pulled out the tip and flew up before the monster swung one of its mighty claws down at her.

What was it that was bothering him?

Erza came down for another attack as the beast was better prepared and fought back even more intensely. A few more piercing strikes landed on the green beast, weakening it to a point where one thought it would simply stop and run away. But it kept going with passion Naruto had only seen a few times in his life and he tried to recall what it was. It was the way the monster fought his red haired partner that intrigued him to no end. It was familiar to him, like a memory he had forgotten or lost. This wasn't a battle to see who was stronger or a plan devised by an evil mastermind to take over the world. This beast was fighting like its life depended on it.

Or...

Naruto drew away his focus on the battle and the magic surrounding it as he used his sensor ability to find something beyond his sight. In a matter of seconds, he could sense several magic energies about two hundred feet behind the beast and he suddenly knew where he had seen that action before. The beast wasn't fighting for itself, it was fighting for someone else!

"Erza! Stop!" Naruto shouted as Erza charged at the monster for one last strike, aiming for its chest. In a flash of red magic, Naruto appeared between Erza and the beast as he focused his newly discovered magic, holding his hand up at the spear that was about to pierce him instead of the monster. A crimson orb appeared in his palm about the size of a basketball and a name came to him as he invented a new spell.

**"Zero."**

Suddenly, the spear disappeared from Erza's hands as the sphere continued to grow in size and encompassed her whole body as her Black Wing Armor vanished as well. She fell to the ground on her hands and knees, clad in only her school girl outfit. Even her regular armor didn't come back out as she watched in wonder at the clear red sphere shrinking back down and disappeared back into the blonde's palm before her eyes.

Naruto took in a deep breath and sighed at his fortunate luck as he watched Erza fall safely to the ground.. He turned away from Erza and looked up into the eyes of the confused beast. The bloodied monster snarled and growled as it watched the blonde stand before it with no weapon in his hand. Naruto watched as it raised a clawed hand over its head, ready to strike down the blonde in a instant.

"Naruto! What the hell are you doing?" Erza exclaimed as she stood up and readied herself to enter the fight again. But the blonde raised a hand up, signalling her to stand down as he continued to stare up at the beast who was confused at his actions, or lack there of.

After a few moments of silence, Naruto slowly began to walk up to the beast as it continued to snarl at the blonde. But it didn't deter the lost ninja as he stopped just short of the massive monster and reached up to touch its limp arm, caused by Erza's first spear strike.

"It's okay. We're not here to hurt your children. We're here to help."

Erza gasped at the blonde hero's words as the beast's eyes widened. It backed away quickly as it turned around and rushed to the spot he had saw covered in magic energy earlier. The red haired mage slowly walked up to the Naruto as she watched the beast run away and then turned back to her partner. "How did you know?"

"Hell hath no fury like a mother's scorn." he answered simply as he began to follow the trail left behind by the monster. Erza had no choice, but to follow as well and a few minutes later caught up to the green beast where it had stop. It was cowering over some kind of nest and both mages could tell there were several large eggs resting inside of it.

"It's a mother trying to protect its children. That's why it was attacking the machines that were clearing out this area. That's why it never charged at you or move beyond its spot. It wanted to make sure it could protect the nest the whole time." Naruto explained as they watched the female monster rubbing her eggs with love only a mother could give.

"Only a parent could fight so hard with such reckless abandonment. I never knew my parents growing up, but I know they died saving my life. They died fighting an evil enemy controlling a powerful demon, giving their lives for me without a single thought to their own. I was only a baby, so there is no way I could've remembered it. But the feeling I got watching her fight you earlier, it just reminded me of it somehow." Naruto whispered with pain in his heart and for one brief moment, Erza could remember a similar feeling with her own parents.

"I...don't remember mine either. My parents died when I was young too." she spoke her mind, nowhere near of ever admitting what had happened to her when she was a child. But, for this moment, she was willing to connect to the blonde on the topic of being an orphan.

"So what are we supposed to do now? The mayor hired us to slay this monster so they can continue to clear this land. But we can't hurt her and her children." Erza stated as Naruto nodded in agreement.

"She's been fighting back because she can't move all these eggs by herself. She's probably afraid if she leaves one or two behind as she took some to move, they will get harmed." Naruto replied. "So, I'll help her move them. Do you understand me? I'm going to help you find a new home higher up the mountain in another forest."

The beast just looked at the blonde before snarling at him which he took as a yes. But then Erza reminded him that the mayor wanted proof of the beast's slaying as Naruto thought about how to solve that problem. If they didn't bring back proof, they would just assume that they didn't slay the beast and contract out another mage who would. Naruto looked up and sighed as he realized there was only one way out of this. He walked closer to the beast and then touch the top of his own head, try to relay his message to the massive monster.

"I'm sorry, but there's only one way out of this so no one else will come looking for you." The beast cocked her head at the tiny blonde before her eyes widened in realization at his meaning and sighed a large breath of defeat before nodding her head in agreement. Naruto nodded back before he looked at Erza and smiled sadly at her.

"**Requip** your sharpest sword. We'll need it."

* * *

"I don't know what I can't believe more. The fact they decorated that horn for us or the fact you are actually taking it back as a trophy." Naruto shook his head as he watched Erza push the giant horn they had to cut off the beast's head for proof into the doorway of her room. It was late so the mayor had the local hotel pay for rooms for them to stay the night before they head out in the morning.

"It would be rude not to. I mean, we don't want to give anything away. Plus, it would be a waste of her sacrifice if we just threw the horn away." Erza stated before pushing the horn into her room. "By the way, did you have to give your shirt to the beast?"

"She needed something to bandage her wounds." Naruto shrugged.

"Yeah, I think you just love walking around without wearing a shirt." the redhead pointed out as Naruto shrugged again and flexed his arms around his head.

"If you got it, flaunt it." he joked around with a smile. Erza rolled her eyes at the blonde, but couldn't help but smile back. Then she looked at him more closely as she realized something was missing.

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask. Where's your stamp? I don't see it. Most guys get it on their arm, back, or chest. So where's yours?"

"Oh...uh, I sort of lost a bet with Cana and Mirajane. Long story short, it's on my ass." Naruto grinned sheepishly. Erza's eye twitched as she nearly screamed out in fury at the blonde's lack of respect for the guild's mark. Then she did.

"What? The pride and honor of Fairy Tail, the fairy mark is on your ASS?! How could you do that? Just when I was coming to respect you, you do such a..." Erza paused in mid speech as Naruto began to laughed into his fist.

"Please, I'm not crazy." he chuckled again as he gripped the front of his jeans and slightly pulled them down below his bare abs. Right there, between the V of his Apollo's belt was a red Fairy Tail mark. He smiled sheepishly again. "But I still lost a bet to those two."

But Erza didn't hear a word, her attention entirely focused on the blonde's well defined 'V' underneath his abs. A deep red blush appeared on her face for an awkward minute, only silence lingered before she quickly turned her face away. "That's a nice stamp. Yep, the stamp is all I was looking at."

Luckily for her, Naruto was naive as he was tough when it came to the female race and their lies as he nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's so cool. I don't know why they wanted it there. I thought it would look better on my arm, but a bet's a bet. They were really red for a while there. I guess they had a lot to drink."

_'Wow, even I'm not that clueless about that kind of stuff.'_ Erza mused as she sighed and looked back to her room.

"I guess we should get to bed so we could head out early tomorrow." the redhead made some small talk as she stood there in the hallway with the half naked blonde. "I just want to say...well, thank you for your help. I would have never known about the beast being a mother. In fact, if you weren't there to distract me, I would have slay the monster with the first strike. It was kind of you to help the beast and fly the eggs to a safe location. Who knew that you getting on my nerves would be for the best?"

Naruto grinned from ear to ear at Erza who looked at him in confusion. "Sorry, I'm just surprised. I think that was the first joke I've heard you say since I met you."

"I am capable of humor, you know? I'm not entirely heartless."

"I know, I'm just kidding. We're Team Awesome, remember?" the blonde smiled warmly before raising a fist to her, catching Erza off guard again until she realized that he wanted a fist bump. She was dead set on hating this guy for a long time, but he goes and does things that make her act all different. Times where she is usually fearless and cunning, he makes her act nervous and stupid.

How can she hate him and yet, sort of like the guy at the same time? Last thing she wanted was to be friends with him, let alone partners on Team...Awesome. But she had to admitted, he was a very strong mage and had limitless potential to grow into a powerful wizard. He had a kind heart and could see things a normal person would have been clueless to or have ignored. He even saw past her armor, questioning why she wore it at all times. She never answered him, but she could see herself doing so in the future if he kept doing things he was doing.

"Yeah, we're Team Awesome." She cracked a real smile for once with Naruto, fist bumping him before turning her smile into a smirk. "For now."

Naruto laughed before heading to his room. "Say that now. Pretty soon, word will spread and everyone will be asking for Team Awesome. Good night, Erza."

Erza nodded as Naruto waved and entered his room, his door closing softly with a click while she continued to stand in the hall of the hotel. If someone would have told her that the guy who stuck his face into her bosom would be her future partner in mission, she would have called them crazy. But now, she guessed she could get used to it. She shook her head and scoff before heading to her own room.

If she didn't kill him first.

The next morning, she was already down stairs with her trophy, dressed and ready to go. She expected for Naruto to be sleeping in like a typical guy, but he was already downstairs waiting for her. He was sitting down at a small table, drinking coffee and dressed with a new shirt that he must have bought this morning. It was a simple black, long sleeved t-shirt with three buttons that cut down into a small v neck at the collar and his hair hung around his face while the back of it was tied up in a loose ponytail.

"Good morning, Naruto. I see you finally put on a shirt." Erza smirked while the blonde merely smiled around the edge of his coffee cup. He took a sip before reaching across the table and offered her a seat.

"Sit, relax for a minute." Naruto waved his hand for the waitress to come. "Can I have another coffee for my partner here?"

The waitress nodded, an apparent blush on her cheeks before giving the redhead a dirty look as she walked back to the bar to prepared the coffee. Erza made a mental note not to drink the coffee, not wanting to be poisoned or drink spit as she turned her attention back to Naruto and shook her head. "We need to take the train back to Fairy Tail at eight which is in ten minutes and we are not flying over the town to catch it in time!

Then all of a sudden, Naruto's face turned solemn as he looked down at the coffee cup in his hand. "No, actually. We're not."

"Why?" Erza was caught off guard again by the blonde's actions and words. "What's wrong, Naruto?"

"I couldn't sleep last night so I went down to the local bar for a drink. Not many people there, but there were a couple of groups just hanging around. One in particular were chatting about something you might be interested in."

Erza raised an eyebrow as she moved to the seat across from the blonde and sat down. The waitress setting down a coffee in front of her before she tossed the hot liquid into a potted plant behind the server's back. "What was it?"

Naruto chuckled at her reaction to the possibly tainted coffee before sipping on his own cup and looking directing into her eyes. His face turning serious again before he continued with his story.

"Tell me. What do you know about a guild called Eisenwald and something called Lullaby?"


	9. The dark side of things

_**Naked and Falling**_

_AN: I appreciate flames, but not ones from people who do it on Guest and just rant about their opinion on Naruto's physical appearance. So...blow me :) For the rest of you guys, you are all awesome!_

* * *

**Chapter Nine - The dark side of things.**

* * *

"So, Dark Guilds huh? Of course. There had to be bad guys in this world too." Naruto muttered to himself once Erza explained what Eisenwald was and what they represented in the grand scheme of things in Fiore.

"I can't believe you have never heard of Dark Guilds before. They are well-known even to normal civilians who can't use magic. They terrorize non magical people and take on missions that Light Guilds are banned from taking. In fact, Eisenwald used to be a Light Guild until they started to take on assassination missions. Killing is forbidden for all mages. It's what cause the Magic Council to disband Eisenwald who then later became a Dark Guild." Erza continued with her summary for the blonde on the subject of Dark Guilds.

"Okay then, so what did I overhear exactly? What is Lullaby?" Naruto asked once more as Erza's face contorted into a look of deep thought.

"I've only heard about it in passing through stories and legends. The flute that was once just a tool to be used for murder by curse, which meant that it curses the target and causes it to die. After getting into the hands of Zeref, the most deadly Dark Mage who had ever lived and used **Living** magic turn it into a **Magical flute**. It was then called the** Mass Curse Murder** magic that is capable of putting a death curse on everyone who hears its melody except for the Caster."

"Damn, that is one hell of a weapon. I want to ask about Zeref, but it seems like we are on a time constraint now. Those guys were talking about a member of the guild who plans to unseal it for their leader to use." the blonde stated what he overheard to his partner who continued to think deeply about the situation.

"Well, maybe you heard the name of the guild wrong then? Maybe they are just mages on an unsealing job for the Magic Council?" Erza surmised hopefully.

"Maybe. I'm not used to these weird names. I did catch the name of the leader pretty clearly. It was...Erigor, I think."

Erza suddenly froze in place, the name ringing in her ears. Naruto immediately saw the redhead's reaction to the name and knew it wasn't good. "Erigor? Are you sure, Naruto? You have to be absolutely sure."

"I'm sure. Definitely." Naruto answered seriously.

"Then we do have a problem. He's an infamous Dark S class Mage who only takes assassination missions. If he's involved with Lullaby, only terror will follow. We need to get back to Fairy Tail immediately and inform Master of this. He can decide how we can proceed with this information." Erza stood up from her seat before Naruto shook his head at her.

"No way. By the time we get back and tell Makarov, they could have unsealed and taken Lullaby and delivered it to this Erigor guy. We need to act now and go after them while the trail is fresh." the lost shinobi declared as he made a fist and slammed it on the table. "Let's go! Team Awesome to the rescue!"

Erza face palmed as her previous frustrations with the blonde came back in full swing. "That's reckless, not to mention we would be outnumbered if the entire Eisenwald guild were to be involved. We need Master's wisdom on the matter and more team members for backup."

"You know I'm right. We need to nip this in the bud before it starts! Besides, Team Awesome only has two members in it and we're it! We're more than enough for these guys. I say, let's go back to that bar and I can get a whiff of whatever magic trace they left behind. Then I'll go into **Mage** mode and track their sorry asses down. They'll never see it coming and the cursed flute will never even make it to Erigor's hands!" Naruto slammed his fist into his hand and grinned as Erza sighed at the blonde's antics.

He did have a point. By the time they reached Fairy Tail and discuss the matter, whatever member of Eisenwald could be unsealing Lullaby and taking it to Erigor. The blonde did have a strange way of getting his point across as the red haired mage decided on the path they should follow. "Fine, we'll go after them, but I'm going to use a lacrima crystal to call Mirajane and tell Master what we are doing. He can send some backup for us and give me peace of mind that he knows what we are about to do."

"Deal. Go make the call and I'll go do my voodoo, magic, track their ass thingy at the bar. Meet you outside the train station in ten minutes." Naruto grinned, holding up a fist to Erza as she stared in confusion before rolling her eyes at the balled up hand. She sighed and looked away in embarrassment before raising her own metal covered fist and bumped Naruto's.

"Team Awesome!" Naruto shouted with pride, looking at his partner to do the same.

...

...

...

"...Team Awesome." Erza whispered quickly before turning away from the blonde as he cheered and took off to the bar to find clues. She bit her lip, trying not to think about how cute he looked when he got excited. No, she needed to focus on the task on hand and talk to Master right away. Erza requipped a piece of her luggage, a small suitcase before kneeling down and zipped it open. She took out a lacrima communication crystal and sent back her case into its pocket dimension.

Not wanting to be overheard, Erza walked deeper into the hotel's dining room and sat down in a booth in the farthest corner. She set the orb down and focused her magic into the lacrima as she focused on who she wanted to call. In a matter of moments, a familiar face appeared in the crystal and smiled up at the weapons mage.

"Erza! How are you?" Mirajane smiled though Erza could have swore she can see a twitch in the white haired girl's eyebrow. "So...where's Naruto?"

"He's around. Actually, that's why I called. I need to talk to Master." Erza explained.

"Oh, well, he isn't here actually. He left for the Guild Masters meeting early this morning. Speaking of which, how did your mission go? Is it completed? I see that you two must have spent the night somewhere." Mirajane stated before poking into what she and Naruto were up to. Erza had a feeling it was more about Naruto than herself and the mission.

"Naruto? Where? Is he there, Mira?" Another voice spoke out from the lacrima as Mirajane's face was pushed aside and Cana appeared now in Erza's vision. "Hey Erza, where's Naruto? Is he fine? Did he ask about me? You didn't make him give you another 'Bombay Roll', did you?"

"Boobie Boinking."

"Nipple Nookie."

"Melon Balling."

"A Woman's Necktie."

"Betty Booping."

"Doing the Prairie Dog."

"Putting the Lime in the Coconut."

"More like putting the Lime _between_ the_ Coconuts_."

"And drink it all up!"

"Enough!" Erza shouted into the lacrima crystal with her face all red, stopping the two girls in another conversation about a paizuri before it got even more dirty. "Good Lord, you two are insane! Naruto is fine and the mission is done! But last night, Naruto overheard something that could spell dangerous for hundreds of people."

"What's going on?" Cana asked as she and Mirajane shared the communication crystal in concern for their friends. "What did he hear?"

"It turns out a Dark Guild being led by Erigor the Reaper are going after Lullaby. He's send someone to unseal it and bring it to him. But we have no idea where so Naruto is currently trying to track their magic. That's why I call. I wanted to tell Master and ask for some backup to meet up with us." Erza explained to her nakama.

"Erigor? The Shinigami? He's a S ranked criminal! You can't take Naruto with you! He's barely figuring out his magic, let alone able to use it in combat properly. You need to send him back here before he gets killed!" Mirajane exclaimed in worry as Cana nodded in agreement.

"You guys underestimate him greatly. You forget how skilled he is in hand to hand combat. He defeated Natsu without magic and in regards to that, he's gotten much better with it. Not to mention he is possibly the only person in Fairy Tail who can track other mages over long distances. Just send Master a message about what we are doing and send Natsu and Gray to meet us. Just have them carry a communication lacrima go on the train and head east. I will call them with the location of where we'll be."

"Are you sure, Erza?" Cana asked in concern for her new friend, biting her lower lip. "This sounds very dangerous."

"Things will be if Eisenward gets their hands on Lullaby. It's a deadly magical item made from Zeref's own **Living** magic. People are in danger if we can't stop them before it's used." the redhead stated in resolve. "Hopefully, we can get to them before they even unseal the cursed object. I have to go now, so remember to send the message."

Erza hung up before Mirajane or Cana could say anything further. Putting the lacrima away. she made her way outside and saw Naruto sitting on top of the roof of the building across from their hotel. She watched as the blonde sat on the tiles and was focusing in deep meditation. Erza could only assume that in a meditative position, Naruto could expand his sensing ability even further.

"Got anything?" she shouted out as the blonde opened one eye and thinned his lips.

"I did until you distracted me." he stated in a deadpanned face before sitting up and flipped off the roof. "But I got it anyways. The group headed towards the Northeast, but one headed due North exactly. I recognized the magic signatures of the the group and that guy was with them last night. Chances are, he's the one going after Lullaby."

"Why do you think that?" Erza asked as they walked down the street towards the train station. "Wouldn't it make more sense for a group to go after such powerful magic?"

"I don't think so. The level of the group is pretty low, their magic isn't that strong. But the one that went alone, he's at a level comparable to some of the guys back at Fairy Tail. I can't tell from this distance, but I'm sure he or she is the one with an ability to unseal Lullaby. So it would makes sense to send the skilled mage to retrieve it while sending the group to meet up with the rest of the guild." Naruto explained to his partner. Erza thought about it and agreed that it made sense.

"So the plan is to try and get the mage before they reach where Lullaby is located. But the problem is that they have a head start on us."

"Not by much. By the distance and speed, he's mostly on the train about fifty miles or so out. So we know the general area of where he's heading. We can catch up my way and if we're close enough, I can most likely sense the evil magic inside of Lullaby if it's that dangerous. That would tell me where it is and we can beat him there." the blonde ninja stated with confidence as Erza cocked an eyebrow at part of his statement.

"What do you mean, _'My way'_?"

Naruto only smiled as Erza's face felled and her shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Crap."

* * *

"For the record, I really hate this!" Erza shouted as she held Naruto in a tight hug, flying over the train tracks heading North.

"Hey, you're not the one with a pair of metal breasts jabbing into your chest! Seriously, what is your deal with the casual armor?" Naruto shouted back, holding onto the redhead's waist as he flew them at a safe level above the ground.

"Mind your own business!"

"You're freaking heavy as Hell!"

"Are you saying I'm fat?"

"No! No! Well, your ass is a little round and..."

"Finish that sentence and I swear I will take us both down!"

"Gotcha."

They continued flying over the tracks in silence, Naruto not wanting for Erza to make her threat real. Instead, he focused on the magic energies flowing around the area as he tried to lock on to one that is different than the others. He could feel the sickening vibes in the air coming from the area, but couldn't pinpoint the evil magic. Erza noticed the look on her partner's face and grew worried for a moment at what he could possibly be feeling.

"Are you okay?"

Naruto looked down at the girl in his arms and gave her a small smile. "Yeah, I'm alright. I'm just feel the evil coming from the area ahead of us. There's a lot of forests around here, it must be sealed somewhere inside some kind of ruins or something like that."

"Hmm, you're right. It's not like it would be in the middle of a city or town. I wonder how Eisenwald found its location." Erza mused.

"Doesn't really matter right now. I say we find the flute and wait for the guy to come for it, then trap him. Taking Lullaby before they do is only half the problem. There is a reason why this Erigor guy wants the flute. There's usually a method to madness when it comes to people like him, nothing is random. He needs that flute for a reason." the blonde explained his thought process and once again, Erza found herself impressed at his reasoning.

Before Erza could say anything, Naruto flinched harshly as a wave of disgusting and revolting magic hit him like a ton of bricks. Even sealed away, the **Magical** flute had an aura of evil spilling out. At the same time, he could feel the magic signature he had been following disappear from the train and then reappear down in the deep forest below.

"Naruto! Are you okay?" Erza asked again, her worry for the blonde increasing as the pain on his face was apparent to her.

"I'm fine. We're definitely in the area and the guy we're following somehow got off the train and appeared inside the forest below us. It must be some kind of magic. I can't tell from this distance. We need to land now so hold on!" Naruto shouted as they zoomed downwards into the thick grove of trees before landing safety onto the ground. The earth crushed beneath the blonde's feet as he landed and gently released Erza from his grasp.

"Okay, let me catch my breath and we'll track this guy down before he reaches Lullaby." Naruto breathed out heavily, not used to flying for such a long period of time. He rolled up his long sleeves slightly above his elbows as he rested his hands on his knees. "Maybe my magic can do something about Lullaby for good."

"I was thinking the same thing. If not, we still can take it to the Magic Council where they will take care of it. As soon as we do this, I'll call Natsu and Gray and tell them to meet us at the nearest town. Then we can go from there."

"Seems easy enough. I'm ready now. Give me a second." Naruto stood up straight as he slipped into his **Mage** mode and took note of all the magical streams in the area. One giant strand was obvious as it gave off a evil aura and was the most disgusting color of purple he had ever seen. He could also see another stream of magic flowing in that direction and sensed a person walking about four hundred feet ahead of them.

"That way. About four hundred feet due West. If we run, we can circle him and make it to the location of Lullaby before him."

"Right." Erza nodded as they both took off in that direction. After a few seconds, it was obvious to the red haired mage how much faster Naruto was than herself. She knew he was slowing down just for her and she didn't like it. Using her **Requip**, she quickly changed into her Flight armor as the cheetah fashioned armor adorned her body and matched the blonde's speed in a manner of moments.

Naruto tried not to blush as Erza's new armor was very revealing and very appealing to him as she ran right next to him in a burst of speed. He could see the magic rolling around the armor and knew how it augmented her speed and agility to the max.

He shook his head and tried to focus on the task on hand. They were circling the Eisenwald mage in order to beat him to Lullaby, but he honed on the magic signature so he could understand his abilities in order to lay out the proper trap. Even from this distance, he could analyze some of the mage's magic and could tell involved using shadows in a unique manner.

There were several layers of magic, each having their own type and skill and Naruto tried to decipher some of what he could do. Suddenly, his eyes widened as the signature disappeared again, just like what happened on the train earlier. But before he could mention this to Erza, an explosion erupted a few feet ahead of them as they both fell back hard on the ground. Out of the smoke, many black colored fists came flying out and shot towards them before they could get fully back to their feet and react to the attack.

Erza shouted as the barrage of fists rammed themselves against her body while Naruto grunted in pain himself from the powerful hits. After a few seconds, the fists stopped as they reunited in a spot on the ground ahead of them, forming a black circle. Then a form pulled itself out of the shadow and revealed a young man wearing matching white jacket and pants as he laughed at the fallen mages.

"I gotta admit. You guys are good. I didn't even sense you following me until a minute ago. As you can guess, I'm a shadow user along with being a sensor, though I'm better at dispelling magic than sensing it." the shadow mage grinned as a purple seal appeared below his feet. "So make it easy on me and just leave. I will kill you if you don't mind your own business."

Naruto was the first to his feet as he rose off the ground and look at the guy in shock. His eyes widened as a familiar friend appeared right in front of him.

"Shikamaru?"


	10. Chapter 10

_**I hate to do this, I really do. With projects that involve writing, I always finish them to the very end. Even if they are fanfiction, but the most amazing thing has just happened to me.**_

_**I've been given an advance of 5,000 dollars of seed money to get started on my first real novel!**_

_**I've won minor awards for my short stories since I was in middle school, newspaper contests and such. But nothing like this before. Like with most writers, I've written a beta story, which is basically a skeleton of the main story with a few key chapters, the summary, and the timeline. I must have sent out hundreds of copies to publishers and didn't hear anything for almost two years. I didn't want to do it the cheap way and sell a book on Amazon for pennies, so I've waited a long time.**_

_**Until three days ago!**_

_**I hooked one and she loved my story idea. She called it original, even though the base genre has been overdone. But my story concept gives it a edge she hadn't seen for a while in a supernatural story. She even said she could see it in a movie!**_

_**Needless to say, I fainted after the letter/phone call from her small company. There are still things to do like accept bids and page amount which will be the difference in what type of book it will be. Then I have to get started on the prelude and the first three chapters. I don't want to jynx myself, so I won't say anything more until I get something down on paper and signed. Then I will release some juicy details!**_

_**Now, comes the hard part.**_

_**This story has come to mean a lot to me and I hate to see it die. So I'm offering to give it up for adoption to a GOOD writer. I gave up a story once and they never did a thing to it, so I won't make that mistake again. I will give the rights over to anyone who wants to continue and finish the story with my occasional help and tips. I have basically the whole idea in my head, just never got a chance to finish it.**_

_**I mean, what would any of you choose? Write for free or money?**_

_**So, send me a PM and we'll talk!**_

_**Sam Greenwalt.**_


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